Precious metals were mixed Wednesday with gold and platinum closing slightly higher and silver and palladium finishing a bit lower.
Gold for April delivery rose $1.10, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,315.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,308.10 to a high of $1,321.70. They climbed 0.2% on Tuesday and shed 0.5% on Monday.
Elsewhere, silver for March delivery gave back 3.8 cents, or 0.2%, to close at $15.652 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.52 and $15.80. They ended flat on Tuesday and declined 0.8% on Monday.
"Buying interest in both metals [gold and silver] was limited by a higher U.S. dollar index today, as well as firmer U.S. stock indexes that hit two-month highs," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "However, the sellers remain timid due to the near-term bullish technical postures for both gold and silver."
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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April platinum added $2.20, or 0.3%, to $791.80 an ounce, ranging from $787.40 to $796.50.
- Palladium for March delivery declined $2.80, or 0.2%, to $1,372.60 an ounce, trading between $1,370 and $1,388. They logged a record settlement of $1,375.40 an ounce on Tuesday.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM
- Gold added $2.80, or 0.2%, to $1,312.80 an ounce.
- Silver fell 11.5 cents, or 0.7%, to $15.695 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales picked up by a combined 2,000 ounces in American Eagle and Buffalo gold coins and by 125,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Last Week | This Week | January | February | 2019 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 900 | 0 | 27,100 | 1,400 | 28,500 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 3,500 | 1,000 | 44,500 | 5,500 | 50,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 15,000 | 1,000 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 85,000 | 5,000 | 90,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 23,500 | 5,000 | 28,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 125,000 | 255,000 | 675,000 | 4,017,500 | 960,000 | 4,977,500 |
