Gold prices edged 0.2% higher in light trading Wednesday after dropping 1.2% in the previous session. No particular incentives were provided by analysts for its gain, other than bargain hunting.
"There is still possible room for gold prices to try to climb back towards the $1,700-$1,730 before resuming their downtrend, but as participation remains thin and bullish news rather sparse, the odds are not necessarily tilting towards that event materializing," wrote Jon Nadler, Senior Analyst at Kitco Metals Inc.
Gold prices added $3.30 to $1,650.30 an ounce in the April futures contract on the Comex in New York. Gold moved between an intraday low and high of $1,646.30 and $1,661.90. MarketWatch recounts:
Gold is likely to remain rangebound this week with no catalysts, said Frank Lesh, a broker and futures analyst with FuturePath Trading in Chicago.
With light volume, few market-moving headlines and reports on the horizon, and no "fear-trade out of Europe," gold is flat, Lesh added.
Silver prices for May delivery settled up 39.3 cents, or 1.2%, to $32.227 an ounce, trading between $31.865 and $32.410.
Platinum and palladium, however, each declined. Platinum prices for April delivery lost $13.90, or 0.8%, to $1,640.40 an ounce, ranging from $1,635.50 to $1,664.50. Palladium prices for June delivery settled down $8.40, or 1.2%, to $688.65 an ounce, trading between $683.80 and $701.30.
London Precious Metals
Precious metals were lower in London for a second straight day. When comparing the most recent London PM fixings, gold fell $7.50 to $1,649.25 an ounce, silver declined 25.0 cents to $31.97 an ounce, platinum lost $16.00 to $1,640.00 an ounce, and palladium fell $9.00 to $690.00 an ounce.
U.S. Mint Bullion Coins
U.S. Mint bullion coin sales levels remained unchanged Wednesday as of 3:44 PM ET. The following are the Mint’s most recent daily, monthly and year-to-date bullion coin totals.
| Sales of U.S. Mint American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Gains | March Gains | YTD 2012 | |
| American Eagles Gold (1 oz.) | 0 | 32,500 | 137,000 |
| American Eagles Gold (1/2 oz.) | 0 | 0 | 49,000 |
| American Eagles Gold (1/4 oz.) | 0 | 0 | 40,000 |
| American Eagles Gold (1/10 oz.) | 0 | 25,000 | 115,000 |
| American Gold Buffalo Coin (1 oz.) | 0 | 18,500 | 39,000 |
| American Eagles Silver | 0 | 1,862,000 | 9,459,000 |
| Sales of America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Prior Weekly | Weekly Gains | All-Time Total | |
| Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Coin | 300 | 0 | 84,900 |
| Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Coin | 300 | 0 | 38,100 |
| Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Coin | 300 | 0 | 28,700 |
| TOTAL | 900 | 0 | 151,700 |
All bullion sales in the above tables are in number of coins sold, not in the amount of ounces sold. The U.S. Mint has not sold five ounce bullion silver coins since Monday, March 12.
