Precious metals retreated as a group for a second straight session on Wednesday. Losses in platinum and palladium were actually their fifth in row. Gold, meanwhile, marked a fresh, near two-week low.
Gold for February delivery shed $7.80, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,764.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Dec. 2 when gold ended at $1,762.70 an ounce.
“Technically, February gold futures bulls have lost their the slight overall near-term technical advantage as trading turns choppy and sideways trading. Bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at $1,800.00. Bears’ next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at the September low of $1,723.70," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures on the day ranged from a low of $1,753 to a high of $1,774.30. They fell 0.9% on Tuesday and they climbed 0.2% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery declined 37.9 cents, or 1.7%, to settle at $21.545 an ounce. The settlement was the lowest since Sept. 29 when silver finished at $21.485 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $21.41 and $22.07. They dropped 1.8% on Tuesday and they rose 0.6% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
January platinum settled down $16.70, or 1.8%, to $894.20 an ounce, ranging from $886 to $918.
- Palladium for March delivery lost $71.10, or 4.4%, to $1,551.60 an ounce, trading between $1,531 and $1,634.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
Published 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 | October | November | December | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 24,500 | 14,500 | 135,500 | 125,500 | 41,000 | 1,115,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 95,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 22,000 | 10,000 | 2,000 | 162,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 85,000 | 40,000 | 0 | 490,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 7,000 | 2,500 | 41,000 | 39,500 | 10,500 | 350,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,076,000 | 1,523,500 | 0 | 28,275,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,700 | 0 | 8,700 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,900 |
