Gold, platinum and palladium ended lower Wednesday after scoring gains in the prior session. Silver extended its losing streak to three sessions.
Declines came after the U.S. Labor Department reported easing inflation with deeper losses realized after the release of minutes from the Fed’s last meeting.
Gold for December delivery declined $15.50, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,258 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The closing price was the lowest since mid-July. The precious metal traded from a low of $1,245.30 to a high of $1,275.70.
"Gold’s relentless downtrend appears to be due to demand for haven assets in decline at the moment, with political and financial meltdown risks continuing to ease," said Colin Cieszynski, senior market analyst at CMC Markets. "Demand for precious metals as an inflation hedge also remains in decline with inflation falling."
Earlier Wednesday, the Labor Department said inflation in October fell 0.1% after advancing 0.2% in the prior month and that inflation over the last 12 months rose 1%, the smallest 12-month increase since October 2009.
After the Comex closed, the FOMC released minutes from its October meeting that showed interest in winding down its bond-buying program.
"Many members stressed the data-dependent nature of the current asset purchase program, and some pointed out that, if economic conditions warranted, the Committee could decide to slow the pace of purchases at one of its next few meetings," the FOMC minutes stated in part.
Gold then drove lower in electronic trading with prices reaching toward $1,243 an ounce.
Silver for December delivery lost 27.6 cents, or 1.4%, to close at $20.06 an ounce. Prices ranged from $19.84 to $20.49. After-hours trade had silver prices near $19.85 an ounce.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
January platinum declined $20.30, or 1.4%, to $1,399.60 an ounce, trading between $1,392.50 and $1,420.
- Palladium for December delivery turned down $8.05, or 1.1%, to $713.85 an ounce, trading between $712.20 and $723.50.
London Fix Precious Metals
London precious metals fixings declined as well. In contrasting the Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM London fix prices:
- Gold fell $18.75, or 1.5%, to $1,257 an ounce,
- Silver slid 20 cents, or 1%, to $20.24 an ounce,
- Platinum dipped $6, or 0.4%, to $1,404 an ounce, and
- Palladium declined $3.50, or 0.5%, to $715 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in November
On Monday, all United States Mint bullion options advanced. On Tuesday, sales increased for all but one of the Mint’s silver bullion coins. On Wednesday, sales climbed for the Mint’s two one-ounce gold coins. Sales breakouts for the day, week-to-date, for the month through Nov. 19, and the year-to-date are listed below.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | November Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 3,500 | 10,000 | 8,000 | 28,500 | 674,500 |
| $25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 58,000 |
| $10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 118,000 |
| $5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 20,000 | 520,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 500 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 7,500 | 225,500 |
| White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | Sold Out | 35,000 | |||
| Perry’s Victory 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 600 | 100 | 700 | 26,900 |
| Great Basin 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 600 | 200 | 800 | 28,000 |
| Fort McHenry 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 400 | 400 | 1,800 | 30,000 |
| Mount Rushmore 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 19,100 | 3,800 | 28,900 | 28,900 |
| American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 1,500,000 | 40,675,000 |
