Gold futures slipped back to a 20-week low in pre-holiday trading Wednesday. U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday but will re-open Friday.
Gold for February delivery, the new most active contract, declined $3.60, or 0.3%, to finish at $1,237.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That returned gold to its lowest settlement price since July 8. The precious metal traded from $1,237.30 to $1,254.80.
"While it was a somewhat quieter market place Wednesday, in a pre-holiday trading atmosphere, it was a very busy day for U.S. economic data," said Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, in a daily note. "The data was a mixed bag, but tilted toward the upbeat side, and that gave the greenback a lift. When the dollar index moved higher, gold prices started to lose altitude."
On Tuesday, gold prices inched up 20 cents.
Falling for the seventh time in eight sessions, silver for March delivery lost 21.1 cents, or 1.1%, to end at $19.68 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $19.67 to $20.14.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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January platinum declined $19.20, or 1.4%, to $1,352.70 an ounce, trading between $1,351.80 and $1,385.30.
- Palladium for March delivery shed $2.50, or 0.4%, to $715.95 an ounce, ranging from $715.50 to $726.30.
London Fix Precious Metals
London bullion fixings were mostly lower. When comparing Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM London fix prices:
- Gold declined $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,245 an ounce,
- Silver shed 13 cents, or 0.6%, to $19.98 an ounce,
- Platinum fell $4, or 0.3%, to $1,377 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $5, or 0.7%, to $725 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in November
United States Mint gold coins will score a strong week despite the Thanksgiving holiday break. Sales of the bureau’s one-ounce gold coins surged for a second day with 19,000 ounces scooped up for the week so far. That is the highest total since the week ended Oct. 25.
Listed below are U.S. Mint bullion sales for the day, the month through Nov. 27, and the year-to-date.
American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | November Sales | YTD Sales | |
$50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 5,000 | 10,500 | 13,000 | 44,000 | 690,000 |
$25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 58,000 |
$10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 118,000 |
$5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 520,000 |
$50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 1,500 | 2,000 | 6,000 | 14,000 | 232,000 |
White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | Sold Out | 35,000 | |||
Perry’s Victory 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 300 | 0 | 900 | 27,100 |
Great Basin 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 800 | 0 | 1,400 | 28,600 |
Fort McHenry 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | Sold Out | 30,000 | |||
Mount Rushmore 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | Sold Out | 35,000 | |||
American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 500,000 | 438,000 | 1,938,000 | 41,113,000 |