Gold futures finished lower for a second session Wednesday, though barely. Platinum and palladium also ended modestly down on the day. Silver bucked the trend, rising for the first time since Friday.
Gold for December delivery edged down 20 cents to $1,363.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The precious metal traded between $1,356 and $1,368.70.
"It’s really a confluence of three things," Reuters quoted Mark Keenan, a cross-commodity research strategist at Societe Generale in Singapore.
"Currency weakness, specifically in India, the tapering that we believe will be announced in (the Fed) meeting, and a slight deterioration in the requirement of having a safe-haven in the light of these strikes in Syria possibly being averted."
Gold prices dropped $22.70, or 1.6%, in the prior session.
Silver for December delivery added 15.6 cents, or 0.7%, to $23.17 an ounce, ranging from $22.79 to $23.25. Silver prices on Tuesday tumbled 70.1 cents, or 3%.
As for PGM futures in New York:
-
October platinum dipped 60 cents to $1,473.50 an ounce, trading between $1,468.10 and $1,487.40. The precious metal declined $8.90, or 0.6%, in the prior session.
- Palladium for December delivery shed $1.45, or 0.2%, to $691.20 an ounce, ranging from $688 to $704. Palladium jumped $9.65, or 1.4%, on Tuesday.
London Fix Precious Metals
London precious metal fixings were split with all but silver gaining. In contrasting the Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM London fix prices:
- Gold added $5.50, or 0.4%, to $1,363.75 an ounce,
- Silver fell 41 cents, or 1.8%, to $22.91 an ounce,
- Platinum rose $6, or 0.4%, to $1,477 an ounce, and
- Palladium gained $10, or 1.4%, to $700 an ounce
U.S. Mint Bullion Sales in September
U.S. Mint distributors jumped on America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins. All designs advanced with one-day sales of 19,700 coins, or 98,500 ounces. No other Mint bullion products gained.
In coin totals (not ounces) are the latest daily, September and year-to-date U.S. Mint bullion sales:
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | September Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 1,500 | 2,500 | 599,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 1,000 | 49,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 102,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 465,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 4,000 | 4,500 | 194,500 |
| White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 3,300 | 0 | 3,800 | 3,800 | 35,000 |
| Perry’s Victory 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 1,400 | 0 | 1,400 | 1,400 | 25,000 |
| Great Basin 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 2,500 | 0 | 3,000 | 3,000 | 25,000 |
| Fort McHenry 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 12,500 | 500 | 14,200 | 14,700 | 25,000 |
| American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 675,000 | 468,000 | 1,143,000 | 34,218,000 |
