Trading action was mixed for precious metals Wednesday. Silver and platinum gained while gold and palladium declined. Their changes were modest, overall.
Gold for August delivery — the new, most-active contract — shed $1.40, or 0.08%, to settle at $1,726.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The bulls still have the overall near-term technical advantage but need to step up and show more power soon. Gold bulls’ next upside near-term price objective is to produce a close above solid technical resistance at the April high of $1,788.80. Bears’ next near-term downside price objective is pushing prices below solid technical support at $1,666.20," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily research note.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,701.60 to a high of $1,729.10.
Silver for July delivery rose 16.2 cents, or 0.9%, to close at $17.757 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.22 and $17.78.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum added $4.80, or 0.6%, to $878.10 an ounce, ranging from $860.30 to $883.10.
- Palladium for June delivery declined $10.70, or 0.5%, to $1,978.40 an ounce, trading between $1,893.50 and $2,000.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $25.65, or 1.5%, to $1,694.60 an ounce.
- Silver fell 11 cents, or 0.6%, to $17.19 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Wednesday. 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 | April | May | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 105,000 | 3,500 | 283,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 38,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 50,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 28,500 | 1,500 | 117,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 490,000 | 750,000 | 490,000 | 11,218,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 0 | 56,500 |
In terms of 5-ounce silver bullion sales for 2020, the U.S. Mint is working on getting them automated and reported. Initial U.S. Mint-provided figures have the first two 2020-dated pieces at 45,000 produced and sold per issue. These amounts are being verified.
