Platinum increased on Wednesday while gold, silver and palladium declined. Losses for gold and silver were their second in a row following two straight session gains.
Gold for December delivery lost $3.40, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,784.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Some mild profit taking from recent gains is seen in the gold market. Both metals [gold and silver] were also pressured a bit by bearish outside markets that saw a firmer U.S. dollar index that hit a 4.5-month today and by lower crude oil prices that are now trending down," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,778.80 to a high of $1,795.70. They slipped 0.1% on Tuesday and they gained 0.7% on Monday.
Silver for September delivery declined 23.7 cents, or 1%, to settle at $23.422 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $23.26 and $23.83. They shed 0.6% on Tuesday and they rose 0.5% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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October platinum added $2.60, or 0.3%, to $996.40 an ounce, ranging from $985.20 to $1,009.70.
- Palladium for September delivery dropped $72.30, or 2.9%, to $2,423.30 an ounce, trading between $2,412.50 and $2,538.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
Published United States Mint bullion sales increased Wednesday by a combined 5,000 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.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Last Week | This Week | June | July | August | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 3,000 | 40,000 | 28,000 | 158,000 | 49,500 | 83,500 | 717,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 3,000 | 0 | 21,000 | 15,000 | 10,000 | 21,000 | 77,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 | 0 | 0 | 86,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 15,000 | 10,000 | 90,000 | 40,000 | 40,000 | 320,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 13,500 | 2,000 | 27,500 | 14,500 | 18,500 | 226,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 968,500 | 824,000 | 2,800,000 | 3,104,000 | 2,405,000 | 21,415,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,900 |
