Gold futures fell for a second straight session Wednesday and closed at their lowest point in nearly two weeks as investors turned toward stocks with the Dow ending above 20,000 for the first time.
Gold for February delivery declined $13, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,197.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the lowest since Jan. 13.
"The combination of higher bond yields and higher stocks are outweighing the marginally weaker U.S. dollar and in turn is causing the loss in gold today," Reuters quoted Carsten Menke, research analyst at Julius Baer in Switzerland.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,192.60 to a high of $1,209.30. They slipped 0.4% on Tuesday and gained 0.9% on Monday, when they finished at their highest level since Nov. 17.
Elsewhere, silver for March delivery lost 20.5 cents, or 1.2%, to close at $16.98 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $16.78 and $17.13. They shed less than 0.1% on Tuesday and, like gold, advanced 0.9% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
April platinum settled down $26.10, or 2.6%, to $981.70 an ounce, ranging from $975.80 to $1,004.20.
- Palladium for March delivery sank $59.75, or 7.5%, to $736.10 an ounce, trading between $730.75 and $791.45.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $21.80, or 1.8%, to $1,195 an ounce.
- Silver declined 17.5 cents, or 1%, to $16.93 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 2017
United States Mint bullion products registering gains on Wednesday included:
- 2017 American Platinum Eagles by 6,700 ounces to 20,000 ounces.
- 2017 American Silver Eagles by 175,000 ounces to 4,897,500 ounces.
2017 Platinum Eagles launched on Monday, Jan. 23. Their tally through three days now matches the amount sold in all of 2016. This year’s Silver Eagles debuted on Jan. 9. Their 2.5-week total is the highest for a month since sales of 5,954,500 ounces in January 2016.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. 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 | Dec Sales | Jan Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 6,700 | – | 20,000 | – | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 14,500 | 4,000 | 23,000 | 74,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 34,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 40,000 | 110,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 1,500 | 12,500 | 28,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 175,000 | 825,000 | 325,000 | 240,000 | 4,897,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | ||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | ||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | 800 | – | ||
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
