Precious metals on Wednesday registered across-the-board gains for a second straight session. Increases in gold and silver were their fourth in row, and their seventh in eight sessions. The pair notched just over two-week highs.
Gold for April delivery settled $8.70, or 0.5%, higher to $1,836.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Jan. 25.
"Gold and silver futures prices are firmer and hit two-week highs in midday U.S. trading Wednesday, as the technical charts for both metals have seen improvement this week, which is inviting speculators to the long side of the markets," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
"Metals traders are awaiting the U.S. data point of the week, which is Thursday morning’s consumer price index report for January, expected to come in at up 7.2%, year-on-year. That would be a hot reading if the CPI number meets market expectations."
Gold futures traded between $1,825.50 and $1,837.10. They gained 0.8% on Tuesday and they rose 0.8% on Monday.
Silver for March advanced 14.1 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $23.341 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23.09 to $23.35. The close was silver’s highest since Jan. 26. The metal rose 0.5% on Tuesday and it surged 2.7% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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April platinum edged up $1.10, or 0.1%, to $1,037.40 an ounce, trading between $1,023.20 and $1,043.70.
- Palladium for March delivery gained $20.90, or 0.9%, to $2,285.10 an ounce, ranging from $2,225 to $2,296.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
Published United States Mint bullion sales increased Wednesday by a combined 3,000 ounces in American Eagle and Buffalo gold coins.
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 / February | December | January | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,500 | 13,500 | 21,000 | 41,000 | 123,500 | 144,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 45,000 | 45,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 64,000 | 66,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 15,000 | 10,000 | 0 | 195,000 | 205,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 8,500 | 5,500 | 10,500 | 61,500 | 67,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 0 | 5,001,000 | 5,501,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
