Precious metals divided Wednesday with platinum and palladium extending gains while gold and silver retreated some from their sharp, prior-day increases which tagged them near 14-month and 7-month settlement highs.
Gold for April delivery gave back $21.50, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,922.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"We’re seeing a more of a technically motivated pullback as there is a bit of a lesser need for safe havens. We’ve seen equity markets stabilize," Reuters quoted David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
Gold futures traded between $1,916 and $1,951.40. They jumped 2.3% on Tuesday, for their highest settlement since Jan. 5, 2021, and they rose 0.7% on Monday.
Silver for May delivery shed 35.1 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $25.19 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $24.96 to $25.55. They soared 4.8% on Tuesday, for their best close since Aug. 3, and they climbed 1.5% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
April platinum added $16.10, or 1.5%, to $1,068 an ounce, trading between $1,051.70 and $1,078.
- Palladium for June delivery rallied $127.10, or 5%, to $2,664.90 an ounce, ranging from $2,550 to $2,671.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
Published U.S. 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 / March | Last Week | This Week | January | February | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 35,500 | 19,000 | 123,500 | 86,000 | 209,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 | 0 | 45,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 64,000 | 4,000 | 68,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 195,000 | 25,000 | 220,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 4,500 | 61,500 | 26,500 | 88,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 519,500 | 0 | 5,001,000 | 1,500,000 | 6,501,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 25,800 | 0 | N/A | 25,800 | 25,800 |
| $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 |
The Financial Times is reporting today: Gold fetishism has had its day; and Money is not an asset, its a privilege. Six years ago the Wall Street Journal claimed that Gold is a pet rock. …Now its a fetish (LOL)!