Precious metals advanced for a second straight session in pre-holiday trading Wednesday. Markets in the U.S. are closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday but they re-open on Friday.
Gold for December delivery added $10.50, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,292.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The precious metals markets got buying support come from outside markets that were in a bullish daily posture — a solidly lower U.S. dollar index and higher crude oil prices," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily report.
"This afternoon’s release of the minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting showed members somewhat concerned about continuing low inflationary price pressures. The markets moved very little on the FOMC minutes release, which contained no surprises," he added.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,278.60 to a high of $1,293.30. They rose 0.5% on Tuesday and dropped 1.6% in their start to the week on Monday.
Silver for December delivery gained 15.2 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $17.112 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $16.92 and $17.13. They rose 0.7% in the previous session and sank 3.1% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
January platinum added $2.70, or 0.3%, to $940.70 an ounce, ranging from $932.50 to $942.70.
- Palladium for December delivery rose $5.45, or 0.6%, to $1,001.95 an ounce, trading between $994 and $1,003.30.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold gained $3.65, or 0.3%, to 1,286.95 an ounce.
- Silver slipped 3.5 cents, or 0.2%, to $16.965 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 sales were unchanged as of 2:38 p.m. ET. 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 | Last Week | This Week | October | November | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 2,000 | 11,000 | 7,000 | 188,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 58,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 30,000 | 10,000 | 370,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 0 | 7,000 | 1,000 | 84,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 175,000 | 30,000 | 1,040,000 | 295,000 | 17,233,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35,000 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ellis Island 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 |
| 2017 George Rogers Clark 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 30,900 | 1,500 | N/A | 32,400 | 32,400 |
