Gold, silver and other precious metals advanced in post-Christmas trading Wednesday. Volume was light, as is expected throughout the week with participants away on a holiday break. Markets closed for Christmas and were open for a half-day on Christmas Eve.
Gold for February delivery edged up $1.20, or less than 0.1%, to $1,660.70 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold traded between intraday prices of $1,650.60 and $1,668.70.
"You’re seeing gold follow weakness in the dollar mostly, and [the market] feeling a little bit of too much selling that’s happened prior in terms of concerns about the fiscal cliff," MarketWatch quoted Anthem Blanchard, chief executive of Blanchard Vault, a Las Vegas-based online retailer of gold and silver bullion.
Losses in precious metals last week were 2.2% for gold, 6.5% or silver, 2.8% for palladium and 4.8% for platinum.
In other New York precious metals futures on Wednesday:
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March silver gained 13.8 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $30.035 an ounce, trading between $29.850 and $30.255.
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Platinum for January delivery was unchanged at $1,534.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,533.40 to $1,551.40.
- March palladium advanced $7.85, or 1.2%, to $692.40 an ounce, trading between $684.55 and $692.90.
London Bullion Prices
London markets are closed until Thursday. The contrasting London fixings are from Friday to Monday:
- Gold gained $11.00, or 0.7%, to $1,662.50 an ounce,
- Silver advanced 30.0 cents, or 1.0%, to $30.19 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $10.00, or 0.7%, to $1,543.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $8.00, or 1.2%, to $683.00 an ounce
Bullion declines were across the board last week with losses of 2.6% for gold, 8.1% for silver, 5.0% for platinum and 3.6% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in December
Sales of U.S. Mint bullion products were limited to the one-ounce American Eagle gold coin. It gained 2,500 with December sales for all sizes now at 69,500 ounces. There are just two better monthly totals this year — the 127,000 ounces in January and the 136,500 ounces in November.
U.S. Mint bullion sales on the day, for the week-to-date, December and year-to-date follow.
| US Mint American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | Dec Sales | YTD 2012 | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 2,500 | 30,500 | 2,500 | 65,500 | 660,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 3,000 | 71,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 76,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 315,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,500 | 0 | 8,000 | 132,000 |
| American Eagle Silver Coin* | N/A | 232,000 | N/A | 1,635,000 | 33,742,500 |
*The 2012-dated American Eagle silver coin sold out last week. The U.S. Mint will begin selling the 2013-dated coins on January 7, 2013.
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | Dec Sales | All-Time Total | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 21,900 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,400 |
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 85,900 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39,500 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29,700 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 262,400 |
Coin sales figures shown above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the bullion coin’s weight.
