Precious metals declined Wednesday, most of them modestly. The drop in gold and silver futures was their first in seven sessions, after they posted more than 2-year highs on Tuesday.
Gold for December delivery shed $7.90, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,364.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The decline was attributed to a stronger U.S. dollar and profit taking, and as investors looked ahead with caution to Friday’s U.S. employment report.
"Following the official jobs report on Friday, gold and silver will zoom only if the number comes in below 120,000. On the contrary, a number over 210,000 will increase the selling pressure," MarketWatch quoted Chintan Karnani, chief market analyst at Insignia Consultants.
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,360.60 to a high of $1,373.40. In the previous session, they settled at their highest level since Mar. 17, 2014.
Silver for September delivery fell 23 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $20.471 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $20.40 to $20.77. On Tuesday, they ended at their highest point since July 23, 2014.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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October platinum slipped $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,169.60 an ounce, trading between $1,160.30 and $1,174.20.
- Palladium for September delivery declined $3.85, or 0.5%, to $713.85 an ounce, ranging from $705 to $718.10.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold lost $4.85, or 0.4%, to $1,358.90 an ounce.
- Silver shed 12 cents, or 0.6, to $20.59 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 coins were unchanged Wednesday, and they have yet to hit the sales boards this week. 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. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday / August Sales | Last Week | June Sales | July Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins | 0 | 19,000 | N/A | 19,000 | 19,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 7,500 | 62,500 | 30,000 | 436,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 48,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 96,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 25,000 | 70,000 | 50,000 | 555,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 14,500 | 10,000 | 122,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 175,000 | 2,837,500 | 1,370,000 | 27,620,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 34,200 | 0 | 34,200 |
