In precious metals on Wednesday, gold declined by nearly $10 to reach a one-week low, while silver, platinum, and palladium notched solid pricing gains.
Gold for February delivery fell $9.80, or 0.5%, to settle at $2,016 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since last Wednesday, Jan. 17, when gold closed at $2,006.50 an ounce, which was the lowest since Dec. 13.
"Gold prices are lower and near session lows after inexplicably coming under selling pressure despite higher silver prices and bullish outside markets on this day. It could be that a big futures trader was either dumping long positions or establishing fresh shorts," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $2,011.70 and $2,037.90. They edged up by 0.2% on Tuesday and they shed 0.4% on Monday.
Rising for a second day, silver for March delivery increased by 42.7 cents, or 1.9%, to settle $22.889 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $22.46 to $23.09. They climbed by 0.7% on Tuesday and they fell by 1.8% on Monday, ending at their lowest price since Nov. 10.
In other precious metals prices on Wednesday:
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April platinum added $9.40, or 1%, to $914.90 an ounce, trading between $906.60 and $922.10.
- Palladium for March delivery jumped by $26.90, or 2.8%, to $973.70 an ounce, ranging from $944.50 to $979.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2024
U.S. Mint published bullion sales last changed on Wednesday, Jan. 17. 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 / This Week | Last Week | November | December | 2023 Sales | January | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 40,000 | 15,000 | 924,000 | 60,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 102,000 | 21,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 16,000 | 0 | 198,000 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 35,000 | 55,000 | 15,000 | 675,000 | 80,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 14,000 | 5,500 | 387,000 | 36,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 846,000 | 2,378,000 | 525,000 | 24,750,000 | 4,875,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 | 0 |
