Precious metals moved in the same direction Wednesday as they did Tuesday with gold and palladium rising and silver and platinum falling. Gold’s gain was its fifth in a row, and the yellow metal marked another three-week high.
Gold for August delivery climbed $7.90, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,802.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since June 16 when gold ended at $1,861.40 an ounce.
"Rising uncertainty around monetary policies, inflation and increasing risk of equity market volatility should favor safe-haven gold demand," ANZ analysts said in a note reported by Reuters.
"Central banks have increased gold purchases in recent months, offsetting some of the physical demand losses in Q2 2021."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,794.10 to a high of $1,810.20. They rose 0.6% in the start to the trading week on Tuesday.
Silver for September delivery shed 4.5 cents, or 0.2%, to end at $26.129 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $26.17 and $26.55. They fell 1.2% on Tuesday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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October platinum edged down $2.10, or 0.2%, to $1,081.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,071 to $1,100.
- Palladium for September delivery tacked on $52.20, or 1.9%, to $2,848.30 an ounce, trading between $2,771.50 and $2,869.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
The United States Mint on Wednesday published American Eagle bullion sales for the first time in over three weeks. Changes included adjustments to sales in June and July.
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 / July | Last Week | March Sales | April Sales | May | June | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 26,000 | 0 | 55,500 | 38,500 | 20,500 | 158,000* | 610,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15,000* | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 0 | 30,000* | 86,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 55,000 | 0 | 0 | 90,000* | 240,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 6,500 | 0 | 33,500 | 11,000 | 44,000 | 27,500 | 200,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 849,000 | 0 | 4,087,000 | 1,053,000 | 0 | 2,800,000* | 16,755,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 35,000 | 0 | 40,000 | 0 | 75,000 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | N/A | 50,000 | 2,900 | 0 | 52,900 |
*The U.S. Mint adjusted June sales of American Gold Eagles with 1oz coins to 158,000 from 4,000; 1/2oz coins to 15,000 from 0; 1/4oz coins to 30,000 from 0 and 1/10oz coins to 90,000 from 0. The agency also lifted June sales of American Silver Eagles to 2.8 million from 0.
