Gold closed at a one-month high Wednesday, gaining for a second time this week after dipping in the previous session. Silver, platinum and palladium extended their winning sessions to three straight.
Gold for June delivery tacked on $11.10, or 0.9%, to end at $1,305.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price was the highest since April 14. Prices ranged from a low of $1,291.60 to a high of $1,309.20.
"Things between Ukraine and Russia are simmering, and that leaves gold poised to go higher," Bloomberg News quoted Frank Lesh, a trader at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago. "People want to hold gold like an insurance policy, because it’s still unclear which way things are going to there."
Gold prices on Tuesday declined $1, or less than 0.1%. They are up 1.4% since Friday.
Silver for July delivery gained 23 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $19.78 an ounce. Prices ranged from $19.51 to $20.
In PGM futures:
-
July platinum jumped $29.70, or 2%, to $1,485.70 an ounce, trading between $1,452.20 and $1,487.60.
- Palladium for June delivery rose $11.50, or 1.4%, to $828.80 an ounce, trading between $815 and $829.20.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals also advanced. In contrasting the London fix bullion prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold added $8.75, or 0.7%, to $1,305.25 an ounce,
- Silver gained 43 cents, or 2.2%, to $19.87 an ounce,
- Platinum climbed $19.50, or 1.3%, to $1,472.50 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $9, or 1.1%, to $823 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales
Six of nine U.S. Mint bullion coins logged sales gains on Wednesday. In overall totals, advances included:
- 4,000 ounces in gold coins, and
- 150,000 ounces in silver coins
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold on Wednesday, last week, the week so far, last month, the month so far, and the year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Sales Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | April Sales | May Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 600 | 100 | 1,200 | 700 | 11,900 |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 1,000 | 9,500 | 2,000 | 26,000 | 11,500 | 138,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 3,000 | 0 | 3,000 | 5,000 | 3,000 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 4,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 20,000 | 6,000 | 68,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 55,000 | 20,000 | 310,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 500 | 1,000 | 3,500 | 17,500 | 6,000 | 89,000 |
| $1 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 140,000 | 1,151,500 | 918,000 | 3,569,500 | 3,262,000 | 20,710,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,500 | 0 | 10,600 | 3,500 | 26,500 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 15,200 | 2,000 | N/A | 17,200 | 17,200 |
