Gold and Silver Retreat for Third Day

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Staggered gold bars

Gold fell slightly Wednesday but with a third straight day of losses prices have dropped 1.1% for the week.

Gold for February delivery declined $4.10, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,225.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The precious metal traded from a low of $1,218.30 to a high of $1,231.80.

"The U.S. dollar index was boosted following the ADP report and the FOMC minutes, hitting a fresh six-week high on Wednesday," said Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, in a daily note. "The stronger greenback and lower crude oil prices were bearish ‘outside market’ forces working against the precious metals markets on this day."

The ADP National Employment Report showed that payrolls increased by 238,000 in December, the strongest advance in 13 months and above the 200,000 figure news outlets pegged as economists’ expectations.

Silver tracked gold, and also declined for a third consecutive session. Silver for March delivery closed at $19.54 an ounce, dropping 25 cents or 1.3%. Silver prices ranged from $19.31 to $19.87 and have fallen 3.3% since Friday.

In PGM’s Wednesday:

  • April platinum shed $1.20, or less than 0.1%, to $1,414.20 an ounce, trading between $1,403.80 and $1,416.40. Platinum has declined for a second day after having advanced for four straight.

  • Palladium for March delivery lost $3.40, or 0.5%, to $738.30 an ounce, ranging from $733.70 to $743.75. The precious metal’s loss is its first in six sessions.

London Fix Precious Metals

London precious metals also fell. In contrasting the London fix prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:

  • Gold turned down $6.50, or 0.5%, to $1,221 an ounce,
  • Silver fell 50 cents, or 2.5%, to $19.52 an ounce,
  • Platinum declined $9, or 0.6%, to $1,405 an ounce, and
  • Palladium lost $2, or 0.3%, to $735 an ounce

US Mint Bullion Sales

There have not been United State Mint bullion sales to report since Dec. 26, though orders for gold coins have been taken. The U.S. Mint on Jan. 2 began selling its 2014 American Eagle gold coins and 2014 American Buffalo gold coins. The Mint is yet to publish their starting sales. Below is a snapshot on how bullion coins performed in December and in 2013.

American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins)
December Sales 2013 Sales
$50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 53,500 743,500
$25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 0 58,000
$10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 4,000 122,000
$5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 15,000 535,000
$50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins 7,000 239,000
White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 4,300 35,000
Perry’s Victory 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 30,000
Great Basin 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 30,000
Fort McHenry 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 30,000
Mount Rushmore 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 35,000
American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins 1,200,000 42,675,000

 

The first 2014-dated silver bullion coins, the American Silver Eagles, will not be available until Jan. 13, 2014.

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