After two consecutive days of simultaneous declines, prices for precious metals diverged slightly on Wednesday. Palladium, after reaching its lowest price since early 2019, managed to score a gain. On the other hand, gold, silver, and platinum marked further settlement lows. Both gold and silver experienced their third consecutive loss, making it their sixth decline in seven sessions.
Gold for December delivery fell by $9.30, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,950.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since July 27.
"The precious metals [gold and silver] are pressured by another economic report out of China that suggests less consumer demand for goods and services, which includes metals. Chart-based selling is also featured at mid-week, as the near-term technical postures for gold and silver have turned more bearish," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
On the day, gold futures traded between $1,948.90 and $1,966.10. They lost 0.5% on Tuesday and they fell by 0.3% on Monday.
Meanwhile, silver for September shed 7.6 cents, or 0.3%, ending at $22.731 an ounce. The close was silver’s worst since June 23. Silver futures ranged from $22.68 to $22.99. They gave back 1.8% on Tuesday and they dropped 2% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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October platinum declined by $11.50, or 1.3%, to $892.70 an ounce, trading between $891 and $910.70. The settlement was platinum’s weakest since Oct. 19, 2022.
- After marking its lowest finish since Jan. 3, 2019, palladium for September delivery rebounded on Wednesday by $13.40, or 1.1%, to $1,231.50 an ounce, ranging from $1,196.50 and $1,240.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
U.S. Mint published bullion sales were unchanged on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Mint published the first bullion additions for August. Gains included 823,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles and a combined 15,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles.
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 | May | June | This Week / August | July | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 60,500 | 35,000 | 8,000 | 41,000 | 674,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 18,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 75,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 32,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 134,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 80,000 | 60,000 | 55,000 | 0 | 440,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 47,000 | 17,000 | 0 | 16,500 | 293,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,593,000 | 1,482,000 | 823,000 | 209,100,000 | 12,638,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 1,200 | 3,500 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
Kaiser,
I had to laugh at the headline, even though it’s a daily report, where it says …”Palladium bounces back”. Last year palladium hit an all-time high of about $3,440 per ounce & is about $1,230 today. What a disastrous outcome for most investors who still hold this precious metal.
NumisdudeTX
It was trading for around $900/oz. in 2019, in the $500 range a few years earlier. There is no reason to think it won’t go back to those prices in the future. What goes up doesn’t always stay up. Only amateurish fools would buy this at or near its high mark and still hold it, unless they want to actually lose money. It is America after all.