Gold prices logged their first gain in four sessions on Wednesday but then declined in after-hours trading when the Fed left its key interest rates unchanged yet signaled that more increases are coming.
Gold for August delivery increased by $10.30, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,968.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold futures traded between $1,952.50 and $1,973.90, declining by 0.6% on Tuesday and sliding by 0.4% on Monday. In after-hours trading, following the signal from the Fed indicating future rate hikes, gold prices fell toward $1,956 an ounce.
"Gold prices are a bit lower and lost decent earlier gains in the wake of a bearish lean by the Federal Reserve on its monetary policy — despite the central bank pausing on its interest-rate-increase cycle," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Elsewhere, silver for July delivery rose by 28.3 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $24.105 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23.71 to $24.18, after giving back 1% on Tuesday and dropping by 1.4% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum shed $1.90, or 0.2%, to $980 an ounce, trading between $971.70 and $986.80.
- Palladium for September delivery jumped $43.60, or 3.2%, to $1,402.20 an ounce, ranging from $1,346.50 to $1,405.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
On Tuesday, the U.S. Mint published bullion sales gains for the first time month. No additional sales were reported on Wednesday. The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold (not total ounces) during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Last Week | This Week / June | February | March | April | May | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 16,000 | 41,500 | 211,000 | 159,500 | 60,500 | 606,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 18,000 | 73,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 12,000 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 32,000 | 132,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 85,000 | 10,000 | 35,000 | 80,000 | 340,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 7,000 | 19,500 | 73,000 | 61,000 | 47,000 | 266,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 725,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 1,593,000 | 8,967,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 3,500 | N/A | 7,500 | 500 | 1,200 | 12,700 |
