Precious metals declined on Wednesday, marking losses that ranged from 0.9% for palladium to 2.9% for platinum. Gold ended the day at a more than three-week low.
Gold for December delivery fell $21.60, or 1.3%, to settle at $1,634.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Sept. 26.
"The precious metals are being punished by a strong U.S. dollar index and rising U.S. Treasury yields. These two bearish elements continue to supersede any other potentially bullish factors for the metals," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,632.20 and $1,659.80. They shed 0.5% on Tuesday and they rose 0.9% on Monday
Silver for December delivery declined 24.1 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $18.359 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $18.30 and $18.76. They lost 0.6% on Tuesday and they rallied 3.6% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
January platinum fell $26.20 to $881.10 an ounce, trading between $880.10 and $911.60.
- Palladium for December delivery declined $18.40 to $1,995.50 an ounce, ranging from $1,951 to $2,028.50. The settlement was the lowest since Sept. 6.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
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.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday / This Week | June | July | August | September | October | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 31,000 | 59,500 | 47,500 | 47,500 | 0 | 780,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 5,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 0 | 73,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 0 | 138,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 135,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 15,000 | 0 | 560,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 21,500 | 39,500 | 22,500 | 44,500 | 21,500 | 387,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 925,000 | 850,000 | 850,000 | 833,000 | 0 | 13,239,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 23,500 | 15,500 | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 |
The decline in the price of an ounce of Palladium for December delivery is virtually the same number of dollars and cents as the total value of an ounce of Silver for delivery that same month.