Precious metals futures finished lower Wednesday, the first trading day of the month and new quarter. Their losses ranged from 0.3% for gold to 7.1% for palladium.
Gold for June delivery declined $5.20 to settle at $1,591.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since a week ago Monday, March 23.
"The fundamentals remain in favour of bulls because global sentiment remains shaky despite central banks and governments standing together in the fight against COVID-19," MarketWatch quoted Lukman Otunuga, senior market analyst at FXTM. "However, the metal is likely to gyrate within a range ahead of the U.S. jobs report on Friday."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,576 to a high of $1,612.40. They dropped 2.8% on Tuesday — marking gains of 1.9% in March and 4.8% in the first quarter of 2020, and they shed 0.7% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery settled down 17.2 cents, or 1.2%, to $13.984 an ounce. The close was also the highest since March 23. Silver futures traded between $13.97 and $14.27. They rose 2% on Tuesday — ending 14% lower for the month of March and registering a 21% decline in the first quarter, and they fell 2.8% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum fell $12.10, or 1.7%, to $717.80 an ounce, ranging from $701.20 to $727.70.
- Palladium for June delivery dropped $164 to $2,140.80 an ounce, trading between $2,110.50 and $2,288.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $32.40, or 2%, to $1,576.55 an ounce.
- Silver rose 8.5 cents, or 0.6%, to $14.015 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
The U.S. Mint has yet to report any bullion sales this week. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday / This Week | Last Week | January | February | March | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 50,000 | 38,000 | 3,500 | 123,500 | 165,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 23,000 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 33,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 14,000 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 20,000 | 40,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 25,000 | 60,000 | 20,000 | 95,000 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 21,000 | 1,000 | 47,500 | 69,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,650,000 | 3,846,000 | 650,000 | 4,832,500 | 9,328,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 14,500 | 9,300 | 6,200 | 30,000 |
