Prices for precious metals divided Wednesday, with gold and silver rising for another round of nearly three-week highs while platinum and palladium declined.
Gold for June delivery increased by $13.70, or 0.7%, to settle at $2,037 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile. For a second day, this marked the highest settlement since April 13.
"Gold and silver prices are higher and hit daily highs in afternoon U.S. dealings Wednesday, in the immediate aftermath of an interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve that was widely expected," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
On Wednesday, the central bank’s interest-rate setting committee wrapped up a two-day session and announced a hike of 0.25% to its benchmark federal-funds rate, bringing it to a range between 5% and 5.25%, a 16-year high following ten straight rate increases. In signaling it could pause further rate increases, it removed previous guidance that "some additional policy firming may be appropriate" to lower inflation to its 2% target.
Gold futures traded between $2,016 and $2,045.40, after rising by 1.6% on Tuesday and shedding 0.4% on Monday to finish at their lowest price since April 21.
Silver for July delivery rose by 6.2 cents, or 0.2%, to end at $25.681 an ounce. Like gold, this marked the highest settlement since April 13. Silver futures fluctuated between $25.35 and $25.91, after gaining 1.5% on Tuesday and registering a slight increase of 0.02% on Monday.
In PGM futures prices on Wednesday:
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July platinum shed $16.50, or 1.5%, to $1,061.80 an ounce, trading between $1,057.20 and $1,085.50.
- Palladium for June delivery declined by $4.20, or 0.3%, to $1,416.80, ranging from $1,405 to $1,442.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
So far this week, the U.S. Mint has reported no change in bullion sales. The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday / Week | Last Week | February | March | April | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 37,000 | 41,500 | 211,000 | 159,000 | 529,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 54,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 12,000 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 96,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 85,000 | 10,000 | 35,000 | 245,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 19,500 | 73,000 | 61,000 | 212,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 6,649,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | N/A | 7,500 | 500 | 8,000 |
As JJ Walker would say ‘Dy-no-mite’…good times for gold and silver holders.
I don’t own any palladium, so I guess my teeth are safe for now!