In precious metals Wednesday, gold and silver rose slightly while platinum and palladium dropped. Gold’s increase was a fifth straight. It also registered another, over nine-month high.
Gold for February delivery tacked on $7.20, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,942.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was gold’s highest since it ended at $1,948.20 an ounce on April 21.
"Gold and silver prices are firmer in midday U.S. trading Wednesday, as the market bulls stepped in to buy the weaker levels seen in early trading. A weaker U.S. dollar index and higher crude oil prices on this day are also positive outside market influences on the precious metals," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,920.60 and $1,943.20. They gained 0.4% on Tuesday and they edged 0.02% higher on Monday.
Silver for March delivery rose 19.2 cents, or 0.8%, to settle $23.941 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23.44 and $23.99. They moved up 0.8% on Tuesday and they fell 1.6% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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April platinum declined $20.70, or 1.9%, to $1,046.10 an ounce, trading between $1,038.60 and $1,067.10.
- Palladium for March delivery fell $47.60, or 2.7%, to $1,687.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,676 to $1,740.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
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 | November | December | 2022 Sales | Last Week | This Week | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 850,000 | 11,000 | 3,500 | 104,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 35,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 140,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 575,000 | 0 | 0 | 115,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,500 | 0 | 410,000 | 500 | 9,000 | 53,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,407,000 | 59,000 | 15,963,500 | 500,000 | 0 | 3,949,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
