Precious metals futures finished mixed Wednesday. Gold slipped from a more than six-year high while silver closed at a new, more than two-year high. Platinum and palladium also divided, with the former rallying 4.7% and the latter dropping 1.3%.
Gold for December delivery declined $2.70, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,549.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold prices are moderately lower in midday U.S. trading Wednesday, on some normal profit taking by the shorter-term futures traders. Meantime, the silver market is higher and hit a more-than-two-year high overnight," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report.
"Both metals continue to see underlying support on worries about slowing global economic growth amid falling government bond yields that are encouraging traders and investors to seek out safe-haven precious metals."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,541.40 to a high of $1,556.60. They rose 1% on Tuesday — marking their highest settlement since April 11, 2013, and they edged 0.03% lower on Monday.
Silver for December delivery — the new, most active contract — tacked on 15.8 cents, or 0.9%, to finish at $18.456 an ounce. The settlement was the strongest since April 17, 2017, when the precious metal finished at $18.514 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from a low of $18.02 to a high of $18.48. They rallied 2.9% on Tuesday and gained 1.3% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
October platinum jumped $40.70 to $908.90 an ounce, trading between $867.80 and $912.20.
- Palladium for December delivery — the new, most active contract — fell $18.50 to $1,462.50 an ounce, ranging from $1,454.20 to $1,479.40.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold rose $4.20, or 0.3%, to $1,537.15 an ounce.
- Silver soared 64 cents, or 3.6%, to $18.365 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged. 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 | Last Week | This Week | July | August | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 500 | 2,500 | 5,500 | 86,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 1,000 | 23,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 28,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 0 | 160,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 500 | 500 | 1,500 | 49,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 647,000 | 138,000 | 1,240,000 | 1,007,000 | 12,269,000 |
| War in the Pacific 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 4,500 | 0 | 57,000 | 12,500 | 69,500 |
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 80,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | ||||
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 40,000 | ||||
