Gold fell for the first time in four sessions on Wednesday, dropping from a four-month high and falling by the biggest amount in nearly four weeks.
Gold for April delivery shed $14.70, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,328 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The one-day decline was the biggest since Jan. 30. Gold on the prior day advanced 0.4% to close at the highest price since Oct. 30.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session moderately lower Wednesday, pressured on profit taking and chart consolidation following recent gains that saw prices hit a four-month high overnight," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily note. "A rebound in the U.S. dollar index Wednesday was also a bearish ‘outside market’ force working against the precious metals on this day."
Gold ranged from a low of $1,322.30 to a high of $1,345.60.
Silver performed the worst among precious metals with a 3.2% loss. Silver prices for March delivery tumbled 71 cents to $21.25 an ounce, trading between $21.09 and $22.04.
In PGMs, platinum snapped a three-session winning streak while palladium fell for a second straight session. In their daily breakdowns:
-
April platinum lost $13.50, or 0.9%, to end at $1,429.10 an ounce. Platinum ranged from $1,425.20 to $1,441.50.
- Palladium for June delivery, the new most active contract, declined $5.25, or 0.7%, to $733.30 an ounce. It traded between $727.90 and $739.55.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals were split. In contrasting the London fix prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $7.25, or 0.5%, to $1,331.75 an ounce,
- Silver prices rose 12 cents, or 0.5%, to $21.85 an ounce,
- Platinum fell $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,432.50 an ounce, and
- Palladium lost $6, or 0.8%, to $733 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in February
U.S Mint bullion coin sales were unchanged Wednesday. The bureau’s gold coins have not advanced since Friday but Monday – Tuesday sales of its silver coins are the strongest since the debut week of the newly dated 2014 American Silver Eagles.
Below is a current sales breakdown across all the Mint’s bullion products.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Week-To-Date Sales | Sales Last Week | Feb Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 17,000 | 79,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 14,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 45,000 | 205,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 11,500 | 53,000 |
| American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,171,500 | 750,000 | 3,671,500 | 8,446,500 |
