Precious metals futures ended mixed Wednesday, one day after U.S. markets closed for 4th of July celebrations. Gold climbed from an 8-week low but silver settled at its lowest price of the year.
Gold for August delivery advanced $2.50, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,221.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold prices were ending the U.S. day session with modest gains Wednesday, after scoring a 3.5-month low in overnight action," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Some short covering in the futures market and bargain hunting in the cash surfaced following the overnight selling pressure."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,216.50 to a high of 1,228.40. They slipped 1.9% on Monday, closing at their lowest point since May 10.
Silver for September delivery fell 19.6 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $15.896 an ounce. The settlement is the weakest since Dec. 23. Silver futures ranged from $15.85 to $16.19. They tumbled 3.2% in starting the week on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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October platinum gained $2.70, or 0.3%, to $908.80 an ounce, ranging from $901.90 to $917.80.
- Palladium for September lost $8, or 1%, to $834.40 an ounce, trading between $830.85 and $857.95.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $3.45, or 0.3%, to $1,220.30 an ounce.
- Silver declined 20 cents, or 1.2%, to $15.95 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
United States Mint bullion coins logged their first gains of the week and month. Advances included 4,300 ounces in gold coins and 320,000 ounces in silver coins.
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 / Week / July | Last Week | June | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,500 | 1,000 | 4,000 | 142,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 4,000 | 0 | 0 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 15,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 275,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 67,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 320,000 | 280,000 | 986,000 | 12,553,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 8,800 | 35,000 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
This article was edited to include updated U.S. Mint bullion figures.
