Gold Ends Lower in February Start but Jumps after Fed News

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Precious metals declined on Wednesday, the first trading day of February, posting losses ranging from 0.1% for gold to 1.9% for platinum. After-hour dealings saw gold surge following the Fed’s announced hike in interest rates and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference.

Slipping from a near 9.5-month high, gold for April delivery dipped $2.50 to settle at $1,942.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold futures traded between $1,936.10 and $1,970.80. They rose 0.3% on Tuesday, marking their highest settlement since April 21 and logging a 6.5% gain in January.

In later electronic trading following Fed news, the yellow metal jumped above $1,966.

On Wednesday following a two-day monetary policy meeting, the Fed’s FOMC raised the benchmark federal-funds rate by 0.25% to a range between 4.5% and 4.75%.

Calling Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s later press conference ‘relatively dovish’, Standard Chartered analyst Suki Cooper said, "signaling the path to peak rates and highlighting falling inflation has given gold prices a boost as the USD weakened and real rates eased."

Silver for March delivery shed 22.7 cents, or 1%, to end at $23.609 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $23.44 and $24.15. They climbed 0.4% on Tuesday, and registered a decline in January of 0.9%.

In PGM futures on Wednesday:

  • April platinum declined $19.40 to $1,001.70 an ounce, ranging from $997 to $1,023.40.

  • Palladium for March delivery fell $15.70, or 1%, to $1,632.60 an ounce, trading between $1,620 and $1,698.50.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023

Also on Wednesday, the United States Mint published updated bullion sales for last month. Additions for January include a combined:

  • 17,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles,
  • 5,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos, and

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)
February November December Last Week This Week January Sales
$50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin 0 6,000 4,000 3,500 13,500 118,000
$25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 0 0 2,000 37,000
$10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 0 0 10,000 62,000
$5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 0 0 0 115,000
$50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin 0 4,500 0 9,000 5,500 59,000
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin 0 1,407,000 59,000 0 0 3,949,000
$100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin 0 0 0 0 0 0
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Antonio

Guess we’ll have to wait for tomorrow for it to go up again.

Rich

Kinda like Groundhog Day.