Gold, silver and platinum declined for a second straight session Wednesday while palladium advanced for the first time in three days.
Gold for February delivery lost $7.10, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,238.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices traded from a low of $1,233.50 to a high of $1,244.60. For a second session, the precious metal was hit by strength in the U.S. dollar and gaining stocks, opined analysts.
"Comex gold prices ended the U.S. day session moderately lower Wednesday, pressured by strong gains in the U.S. dollar index and by higher world stock indexes which are a competing asset class for the precious metals," said Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, in a daily note.
There has also been a pick-up of pressuring talk that the Federal Reserve will continue to trim its stimulus.
"The gold bugs can’t seem to fight the taper story, thus gold has had a lot of trouble staying above $1,250," MarketWatch quoted Jason Rotman, president of Lido Isle Advisors, ahead of the Beige Book release. "We believe gold may head back down towards $1,200 if we see another taper at this month’s Fed meeting."
In other precious metals futures on Wednesday:
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Silver for March delivery lost 15 cents, or 0.7%, to $20.13 an ounce, ranging from $19.91 to $20.27.
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April platinum fell $5.20, or 0.4%, to $1,428.60 an ounce, trading between $1,415.10 and $1,432.90.
- Palladium for March delivery gained $5.10, or 0.7%, to $744 an ounce, ranging from $733.95 to $748.10.
London Fix Precious Metals
London precious metals fixings declined. In contrasting the London fix prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold fell $15.50, or 1.2%, to $1,236 an ounce,
- Silver shed 18 cents, or 0.9%, to $20.09 an ounce,
- Platinum lost $17, or 1.2%, to $1,416 an ounce, and
- Palladium dipped $3, or 0.4%, to $734 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in January
For the latest on U.S. Mint bullion sales, refer to Tuesday’s coin news article. The following table offers United States Mint sales through Jan. 14 and the December totals.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||
|---|---|---|
| January 2014 Sales | December 2013 Sales | |
| American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 67,000 | 56,000 |
| American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 33,000 | 7,000 |
| American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 3,371,500 | 1,200,000 |
