Gold dropped to a seven-week low Wednesday, but then climbed in after-hours trade following the release of minutes from the Fed’s last policy meeting.
Gold for April delivery declined $8.40, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,200.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,197.20 to a high of $1,211.60. The settlement price was the weakest since gold ended at $1,186.20 on Jan. 2.
Gold in later electronic trading was above $1,209 an ounce, gaining support from dovish-read Fed minutes.
"I don’t think the Fed is going to be in any hurry to raise rates for a long, long time. As such, I think sentiment surrounding gold in the intermediate term should be positive," MarketWatch quoted Adam Koos, president of Libertas Wealth Management.
Silver for March delivery fell 11 cents, or 0.7%, to close at $16.27 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $16.23 and $16.55. The precious metal was also on the rise late in the afternoon, up near $16.50 an ounce.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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April platinum lost $9.80, or 0.8%, to $1,167.20 an ounce, ranging from $1,163.10 to $1,183.40.
- Palladium for March delivery settled down $6.65, or 0.9%, to $776.60 an ounce, trading between $775.40 and $785.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals declined. In comparing London bullion Fix prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold shed $3.50, or 0.3%, to $1,206 an ounce,
- Silver dropped 40 cents, or 2.4%, to $16.42 an ounce,
- Platinum declined $20, or 1.7%, to $1,172 an ounce, and
- Palladium lost $7, or 0.9%, to $779 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in February
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Wednesday as of 3:20 PM ET but they did rise late in the day on Tuesday. Those gains are shown below.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | January Sales | February Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 1,500 | 2,500 | 51,500 | 6,000 | 57,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 20,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 36,000 | 0 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 5,000 | 30,000 | 115,000 | 40,000 | 155,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 2,000 | 4,000 | 34,500 | 8,000 | 42,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 625,000 | 772,500 | 5,530,000 | 2,149,500 | 7,679,500 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 14,200 | N/A | N/A | 14,200 | 14,200 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 600 | 0 | 600 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Coins with an asterisk (*) have sold out.
