Precious metals retreated slightly on Wednesday, marking losses ranging from 0.3% for gold to 1.1% for silver. Silver’s loss was its first in six sessions.
Meanwhile, gold for February delivery shed $5.10 to settle at $1,805.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold and silver prices are lower in midday trading but well up from their session lows. A lower U.S. dollar index today has helped lift the two metals up from their daily lows. However, profit taking by the shorter-term futures traders, rising U.S. Treasury yields and weaker crude oil prices on this day are price-negatives outweighing the positives," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,789.10 and $1,808. They rose 0.1% on Tuesday and they dipped 0.2% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery fell 26.3 cents to close at $22.858 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $22.61 to $23.19. They gained 0.6% on Tuesday, for their highest settlement since Nov. 24, and they edged 0.2% higher on Monday.
In PGM future prices on Wednesday:
-
April platinum lost $9.80, or 1%, to $970 an ounce, trading between $960 and $979.30.
- Palladium for March delivery gave back $13.60, or 0.7%, to $1,987 an ounce, ranging from $1,945 to $1,996.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
Published United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged on Wednesday. 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 / This Week | Last Week | October | November | December | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 135,500 | 125,500 | 41,000 | 1,115,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 95,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 22,000 | 10,000 | 2,000 | 162,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 85,000 | 40,000 | 0 | 490,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 41,000 | 39,500 | 10,500 | 350,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 1,076,000 | 1,523,500 | 0 | 28,275,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,700 | 0 | 8,700 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,900 |
