Gold gained Wednesday after dipping in the previous session. The yellow metal has edged higher in three of the last four sessions. Platinum was the biggest winner Wednesday among precious metals as it reached a 16-month high.
Gold for April delivery added $5.30, or 0.3%, to close at $1,678.80 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold traded between $1,668.80 and $1,680.50.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session modestly higher Wednesday. Some short covering and technically related buying by shorter-term traders was featured in otherwise lackluster trading," noted Jim Wyckoff in the PM Kitco Metals Roundup. "Gold and silver traders and investors are still looking for some fresh fundamental news to drive their markets."
Silver was essentially unchanged Wednesday. Silver for March delivery climbed less than a penny to $31.878 an ounce. It ranged from $31.60 to $31.90.
"Perhaps bullion investors are just waiting for equity markets to decide on direction with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovering around the key 14,000 psychological resistance level," MarketWatch quoted Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at GFT Markets.
"A good assumption would be that gold and, perhaps, silver, would move in the opposite direction to that of the Dow. But whatever the equity market does, the long term fundamentals of precious metals remain sound."
Advancing for a fourth straight session, April Platinum jumped $29.30, or 1.7%, to $1,736.500 an ounce. Platinum traded between $1,709.20 and $1,744.50 an ounce — the highest level since Sept. 6, 2011. Supply concerns are said to be driving prices higher.
"Supply issues and expectations of rising demand, especially from China, are pushing prices higher," Bloomberg quoted David Meger, the director of metal trading at Vision Financial Markets in Chicago.
Sister medal palladium snapped a string of three consecutive session increases, barely. Palladium for March delivery shed 65.0 cents to $764.80 an ounce, ranging from $757.10 to $772.90.
London Bullion Prices
In London, silver declined as other metals gained. In contrasting the Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM Fix prices:
- Gold added 75.0 cents to $1,674.25 an ounce,
- Silver fell 31.0 cents, or 1.0%, to $31.70 an ounce,
- Platinum advanced $22.00, or 1.3, to $1,724.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium climbed 8.00, or 1.1%, to $764.00 an ounce
US Bullion Coins
Sales levels for U.S. Mint bullion coins remained unchanged Wednesday. The month is beginning slow compared to the January. The following two tables offer sales figures for the day, week-to-date and year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 17,500 | 0 | 124,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 110,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,500 | 0 | 72,500 |
| American Eagle Silver Coin | 0 | 1,491,000 | 675,500 | 8,173,500 |
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | All-Time Sales | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 400 | 22,300 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 21,000 |
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,400 |
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 9,300 | 0 | 104,900 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,300 | 0 | 43,500 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 4,260 | -2,260 | 33,400 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 15,860 | 0 | 291,360 |
*The Chickasaw total was adjusted down by -2,260 on Tuesday. Last week on Thursday its sales had trimmed by 40. Such negative adjustments are very atypical in U.S. Mint reported bullion coin sales.
All coin sales above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the bullion coin’s weight.
