Precious metals fell Wednesday, logging losses ranging from less than 0.1% for silver to 1.7% for platinum. Platinum’s loss was its first in eight sessions with the prior four marking more than six-year settlement highs. Gold, meanwhile, finished at an almost eight-month low.
Gold for April delivery dropped $26.20, or 1.5%, to settle at $1,772.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since gold ended at $1,770.60 an ounce on June 25.
"A stronger U.S. dollar index on this day and a deteriorating near-term technical posture in gold emboldened the sellers in the yellow metal today," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily research note. "The gold and silver markets are also seeing limited buying interest in a world that is presently void of a major ‘international incident’ and in which global stock markets are mostly robust."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,767.90 to a high of $1,794.20. They lost 1.3% in starting the new trading week on Tuesday.
Silver for March delivery edged down a penny, or 0.04%, to settle at $27.315 an ounce, trading between $26.91 and $27.48. They gave back less than a half cent on Tuesday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
April platinum declined $21.90 to $1,257.70 an ounce, ranging from $1,231.80 to $1,273. On Tuesday, the metal registered its best settlement since Jan. 22, 2015.
- Palladium for March delivery fell $18.50, or 0.8%, to $2,369.70 an ounce, trading between $2,358 and $2,392.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $13.55, or 0.8%, to $1,780.70 an ounce.
- Silver dropped 46 cents, or 1.7%, to $27.115 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
United States Mint bullion sales increased Wednesday by 70,000 ounces in American Silver 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 | January Sales | February | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 37,000 | 10,000 | 48,500 | 191,000 | 111,500 | 302,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 22,000 | 0 | 22,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36,000 | 0 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 95,000 | 0 | 95,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 4,500 | 10,500 | 61,500 | 16,000 | 77,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 70,000 | 500,000 | 680,000 | 751,000 | 4,775,000 | 2,801,000 | 7,576,000 |
| America Samoa 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Weir Farm 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Salt River Bay 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marsh Billings 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tallgrass Prairie 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
