Precious metals futures changed little Wednesday. Silver climbed while and gold, platinum and palladium declined.
Gold for August delivery shed 90 cents, or 0.05%, to settle at $1,735.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Technically, August gold futures bulls still have the firm overall near-term technical advantage but trading has returned to a choppy and sideways pattern at higher levels. Longer term, such action could be storing energy for another leg up in prices in the coming weeks or months," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,717.30 to a high of $1,739.30. They rose 0.5% on Tuesday and they fell 0.6% on Monday.
Silver for July delivery added 12.3 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $17.775 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.51 and $17.82. They gained 1.5% on Tuesday and they declined 0.5% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum declined $5.70, or 0.7%, to $838.20 an ounce, ranging from $825.70 to $845.60.
- Palladium for September delivery fell $17.20, or 0.9%, to $1,925.50 an ounce, trading between $1,898.30 and $1,948.20.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold added $4.50, or 0.3%, to $1,724.35 an ounce.
- Silver rose 6 cents, or 0.3%, to $17.47 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 | Last Week | This Week | April | May | June | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 25,500 | 8,500 | 105,000 | 5,500 | 36,500 | 321,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 41,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 12,000 | 2,000 | 54,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 3,500 | 500 | 28,500 | 2,500 | 4,500 | 123,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 457,000 | 750,000 | 490,000 | 907,000 | 12,125,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 0 | 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.
