Precious metals climbed Wednesday, registering gains ranging from 0.5% for silver to 4% for platinum. Silver’s increase was its third straight.
Gold for February delivery rose $10.70, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,854.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold saw some support, opined analysts, after the Labor Department said consumer prices increased last month.
"It shows that there’s a slight uptick in inflation, which is always supportive of gold," Reuters quoted Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
U.S. consumer prices rose 0.4% in December following a 0.2% increase in November. However, across the longer haul, inflation at 1.4% in 2020 was the lowest for a year since 2015.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,849.10 to a high of $1,863. They gave back 0.4% on Tuesday and they rose 0.8% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery added 13.7 cents to settle at $25.572 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $25.17 and $25.79. They picked up 0.6% on Tuesday and they surged 2.6% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
April platinum tacked on $42.90 to $1,110.70 an ounce, ranging from $1,067 to $1,113.10.
- Palladium for March delivery gained $20.90, or 0.9%, to $2,397.10 an ounce, trading between $2,378.50 and $2,409.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold gained $17.60, or 1%, to $1,858.85 an ounce.
- Silver declined 19 cents, or 0.7%, to $25.335 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
United States Mint bullion sales increased Wednesday by 20,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles.
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 | December | 2020 Sales | 2021 Sales | |
$50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 20,000 | 43,500 | 44,500 | 48,500 | 747,500 | 88,000 |
$25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 17,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 70,000 | 17,000 |
$10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 22,000 | 6,000 | 0 | 106,000 | 28,000 |
$5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 60,000 | 35,000 | 0 | 350,000 | 95,000 |
$50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 20,500 | 6,000 | 10,500 | 242,000 | 26,500 |
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 2,800,000 | 1,875,000 | 751,000 | 30,089,500 | 4,675,000 |
America Samoa 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 | 0 |
Weir Farm 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 | 0 |
Salt River Bay 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 | 0 |
Marsh Billings 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 | 0 |
Tallgrass Prairie 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 | 0 |
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56,500 | 0 |