Precious metals fell on Wednesday. Their losses ranged from 1.1% for gold to 2.3% for platinum. For gold and silver, it was their fourth declines in five sessions, and both ended at multi-week lows.
Gold for April delivery settled down $20.10 to $1,845.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close was gold’s lowest since it ended at $1,840.60 ounce on Jan. 5.
"The key outside markets were in a bearish daily posture for the metals markets at mid-week, as the U.S. dollar index was sharply higher and crude oil prices were lower," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,839.30 and $1,870.90. They rose 0.1% on Tuesday and they lost 0.6% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery dropped 30.1 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $21.572 an ounce. The settlement was the lowest since silver finished at $21.436 an ounce on Nov 29. Silver futures traded between $21.38 and $21.88. They gained 0.1% on Tuesday, and they fell 1% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
April platinum lost $21.40 to $917.80 an ounce, ranging from $915.40 to $938.20.
- Palladium for March delivery ended down $21.70, or 1.5%, to $1,444.50 an ounce, trading between $1,413.50 and $1,490.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Published United States Mint bullion sales have been unchanged this week. 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) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January Sales | Last Week | February | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 118,000 | 9,000 | 9,000 | 127,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 37,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 38,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 62,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 64,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 115,000 | 65,000 | 65,000 | 180,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 59,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 64,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 3,949,000 | 450,000 | 450,000 | 4,399,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
