Precious metals futures closed lower Wednesday. Gold’s loss, its second in a row, was modest in lightened trading activity as investors pause for breath ahead of Christmas weekend.
Gold for February delivery inched lower by 40 cents to settle at $1,133.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Any pullback in the greenback may trigger a scramble into gold," Reuters quoted HSBC analyst James Steel. "Gold may near $1,100 per ounce but we do not think the market will go below that level. If it does break $1,100 per ounce, we would expect bargain-hunters and price sensitive buyers to increase purchases."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,131 to high of $1,138.80. They shed 0.8% on Tuesday after rising 0.5% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery declined 13.8 cents, or 0.9%, to $15.979 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.95 and $16.24. They rose 0.2% on Tuesday after sliding 0.8% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
January platinum fell $9.60, or 1%, to $914.40 an ounce, ranging from $910.10 to $922.50.
- Palladium for March delivery declined $10.95, or 1.6%, to $659.90 an ounce, trading between $655.80 and $668.20.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold added $7.95, or 0.7%, to $1,133.65 an ounce.
- Silver added 23 cents, or 1.5%, to $16.03 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 as of 2:46 p.m. ET. The Mint’s most popular 2016-dated bullion coins have sold out. New 2017-dated issues will go on sale Jan. 9.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Nov Sales | Dec Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins* | – | 20,000 | ||||
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins* | – | 129,000 | 23,000 | 817,500 | ||
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 7,000 | 3,000 | 74,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins* | – | 18,000 | 2,000 | 152,000 | ||
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins* | – | 105,000 | 40,000 | 925,000 | ||
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,500 | 2,500 | 29,500 | 12,500 | 219,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 3,061,000 | 240,000 | 37,701,500 | ||
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 105,000 | ||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 75,000 | ||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 100 | 38,100 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 6,600 | 800 | 40,000 | ||
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27,800 | 0 | 27,800 |
