Reversing from their prior-day directions, gold, silver and platinum declined Wednesday while palladium gained. Gold and silver each fell from almost one-month highs. Palladium earned another record.
Gold for February delivery lost $4.20, or 0.3%, to end at $1,480.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"It’s been an interesting see-saw … The market is looking for reliable information concerning tariff talks, more than anything else," Reuters quoted George Gero, managing director at RBC Wealth Management. "Gold traders have been buying dips and doing well selling at the bigger rallies. This has kept gold range-bound for some time between $1,480 and $1,500."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,476.70 to a high of $1,489.90. They gained 1% on Tuesday — registering their highest settlement since Nov. 6, and they dipped 0.2% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery dropped 33.2 cents, or 1.9%, to finish at $16.916 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $16.86 and $17.42. They advanced 1.7% on Tuesday — marking their best close since Nov. 6, and they declined 0.8% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
January platinum fell $9.80, or 1.1%, to $901.80 an ounce, ranging from $899.60 to $918.40.
- Palladium for March delivery tacked on $21, or 1.2%, to a record settlement of $1,845.40 an ounce. Palladium traded between $1,823.10 and $1,846.50.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $2.20, or 0.2%, to $1,475.10 an ounce.
- Silver rose 12 cents, or 0.7%, to $17.13 an ounce.
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 | November | This Week / December | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 500 | 106,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin* | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 38,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 195,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 60,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 463,000 | 0 | 14,863,500 |
| Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 6,500 | 20,000 | 5,000 | 25,000 |
| San Antonio Missions 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55,200 |
| War in the Pacific 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72,500 |
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | |||
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 40,000 | |||
