Gold and silver futures notched three-week highs on Wednesday, propelled by a weakened U.S. dollar.
Gold for August delivery gained $15.30, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,262.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close was the highest since Wednesday, May 18.
"The precious metals were boosted by bullish outside markets that saw higher crude oil prices and a lower U.S. dollar index," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily note. "In fact, most of the raw commodity futures markets were in rally mode today, which added to the upside pressure on the metals."
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,245.50 to a high of $1,267.20. Looking back, they slipped less than 0.1% on Tuesday and moved up 0.4% on Monday.
Silver for July delivery surged 59.1 cents, or 3.6%, to settle at $16.985 an ounce. Like for gold, the settlement was the highest since May 18. Silver prices ranged from $16.39 to $17.12. They declined 0.3% in the prior session and advanced 0.5% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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July platinum rose $12.60, or 1.3%, to $1,012 an ounce, trading between $1,000.40 and $1,022.20.
- Palladium for September delivery tacked on $9.05, or 1.6%, to $561.20 an ounce, ranging from $554.45 to $571.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold added $22, or 1.8%, to $1,263 an ounce.
- Silver added 44 cents, or 2.7%, to $16.75 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Wednesday but they did move higher later on Tuesday with gains of 1,500 ounces in gold coins and 113,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
The U.S. Mint is limiting this week’s sales of American Silver Eagle to 1,415,500 coins. The Mint’s network of bullion distributors ordered 53.9% of them through Wednesday. 2016 American Silver Eagles are running at a record pace with sales of 24,133,000 coins, representing a 35.3% increase over those sold through same time in record-breaking year 2015.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Tuesday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Apr Sales | May Sale | June Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 500 | 17,000 | 7,500 | 93,500 | 64,500 | 17,000 | 360,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 7,000 | 0 | 43,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 14,000 | 10,000 | 2,000 | 78,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 55,000 | 60,000 | 15,000 | 450,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 5,500 | 500 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 3,500 | 101,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 113,000 | 650,500 | 762,500 | 4,072,000 | 4,498,500 | 833,500 | 24,246,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64,000 | 11,000 | 0 | 75,000 |
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33,000 | 64,000 | 11,000 | 33,000 | 33,000 |
