Gold and silver prices soared Wednesday, advancing for the first time since Friday as dollar weakness sparked buying. Platinum and palladium extended their winning streaks to two sessions.
"We saw gold take off as the dollar began its slide," Frank Lesh, a trader at FuturePath trading in Chicago, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "Also, the strength in commodities continues to support gold and with some support coming in from technical buying."
Gold for February delivery rallied $26.40, or 2.2%, to settle at $1,247.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The pick up is the biggest since Oct. 17 and pulled prices back from a five-month low. Bargain-hunting was another factor cited for gains.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session with sharp gains Wednesday on short covering, bargain hunting and position evening ahead of two days of major economic data points just ahead," said Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, in a daily note.
"In early trading Wednesday gold and silver prices hit fresh five-month lows in the immediate aftermath of a monthly U.S. ADP jobs figure that was stronger than expected. However, bargain hunters quickly stepped in to buy the dip in prices after the ADP report and the gold market quickly pushed back above unchanged."
Gold prices dropped nearly $30 an ounce in combined losses on Monday and Tuesday.
Silver for March delivery soared 76.5 cents, or 4%, to $19.83 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $18.89 to $19.89. Silver fell 22.4 cents, or 1.2%, in the prior session.
In rounding out the precious metals complex:
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January platinum gained $20.20, or 1.5%, to $1,376 an ounce, trading between $1,346 and $1,378.20.
- Palladium for March delivery settled up $14.45, or 2%, to $729.25 an ounce, ranging from $713.20 to $732.50.
London Fix Precious Metals
Excluding silver, London precious metals fixings climbed as well. In contrasting the Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM London fix prices:
- Gold gained $10.25, or 0.8%, to $1,227.50 an ounce,
- Silver declined 12 cents, or 0.6%, to $19.05 an ounce,
- Platinum added $12, or 0.9%, to $1,357 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $7, or 1%, to $718 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in December
Sales totals for United States Mint bullion coins advanced for Gold Eagles and Silver Eagles. Listed below are sales across all of the bureau’s bullion products.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Week/Month To Date | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 13,000 | 11,000 | 701,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 118,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 10,000 | 0 | 10,000 | 530,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 500 | 6,000 | 500 | 232,500 |
| White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | Sold Out | 35,000 | ||
| Perry’s Victory 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27,100 |
| Great Basin 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28,600 |
| Fort McHenry 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | Sold Out | 30,000 | ||
| Mount Rushmore 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | Sold Out | 35,000 | ||
| American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 25,000 | 800,000 | 374,500 | 41,849,500 |
