Silver rose slightly on Wednesday, after tagging its lowest settlement since 2020, while gold, platinum and palladium declined. Gold’s loss was its seventh in a row, and its eleventh decline in twelve sessions. It also ended the day at a more than nine-month low.
Gold for August delivery fell $27.40, or 1.6%, to settle at $1,736.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Sept. 29 when gold ended at $1,722.90 an ounce.
"The metals bulls continue to run for cover amid a stronger U.S. dollar index that hit a 20-year high today, and by crude oil prices that are down around $10 a barrel in just two trading days so far this week. The near-term technical charts for gold and silver are also fully bearish, which is prompting the chart-based traders to play the short sides of the futures markets," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,730.70 and $1,771.50. They fell 2.1% in starting the new trading week on Tuesday.
Following five straight losses, silver for September delivery rose 3.8 cents, or 0.2%, to finish at $19.159 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from a low of $18.70 to a high of $19.33. They gave back 2.8% on Tuesday, registering their weakest close since July 10, 2020.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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October platinum shed $9.80, or 1.2%, to $840.90 an ounce — the lowest since ending at $838 an ounce on Sept. 24, 2020. Platinum traded between $832 and $856.40.
- Palladium for September delivery fell $22.50, or 1.2%, to $1,896.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,884 to $1,954.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
Published U.S. 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.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday / This Week / July | Last Week | April | May | June | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 27,500 | 80,500 | 164,500 | 27,500 | 622,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 3,000 | 7,000 | 4,000 | 64,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 16,000 | 14,000 | 8,000 | 16,000 | 126,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 105,000 | 25,000 | 50,000 | 105,000 | 475,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 12,500 | 27,500 | 56,000 | 15,000 | 253,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 861,000 | 850,000 | 1,350,000 | 861,000 | 10,642,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 18,500 | 0 | 0 | 18,500 | 58,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
