Gold prices settled at a fresh three-and-a-half month low for the mid-week trading session Wednesday, marking a third straight day of losses.
Gold for June delivery slipped $6.20, or 0.5%, to finish at $1,259.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price was the weakest since gold closed at $1,257.20 an ounce on Feb. 6.
"Fundamentally speaking, turmoil in the Ukraine has fallen to a whisper as the elections went off without a hitch, economic reports came in positive, and it goes without saying that the new record highs in the stock market are likely to blame," MarketWatch quoted Adam Koos, president and portfolio manager at Libertas Wealth Management.
"For now, the only thing left for the gold bulls is the prospect of inflation, but at least at the current moment, CPI is about as muted as Bill Gross the day El-Erian left," he said.
Gold prices traded from a low of $1,255.80 to a high of $1,267.30.
Silver for July delivery dropped less than a penny to end at $19.06 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $18.97 to $19.16.
PGM futures climbed after falling for two consecutive sessions. In the breakdowns on Wednesday:
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July platinum tilted up 40 cents to $1,462.70 an ounce, trading between $1,442.70 and $1,468.80.
- Palladium for June delivery tacked on $9.20, or 1.1%, to $839.85 an ounce, ranging from $830.55 to $844.65.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals fixings changed narrowly for the most part. In contrasting London bullion fix prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $12, or 0.9%, to $1,263.50 an ounce,
- Silver shed 13 cents, or 0.7%, to $19.13 an ounce,
- Platinum declined $12, or 0.8%, to $1,455 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $4, or 0.5%, to $838 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales
U.S. Mint bullion products advanced with sales of gold coins gaining 4,500 ounces and orders for silver coins rising 103,850 ounces. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold on Wednesday, last week, this 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 | 300 | 0 | 1,200 | 1,000 | 12,200 |
| $50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 11,000 | 6,000 | 26,000 | 28,500 | 155,000 |
| $25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 3,000 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 6,000 | 68,000 |
| $5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 55,000 | 30,000 | 320,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 2,500 | 3,000 | 2,500 | 17,500 | 11,500 | 94,500 |
| $1 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 100,350 | 300,000 | 301,500 | 3,569,000 | 3,863,500 | 21,311,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 0 | 10,600 | 4,000 | 27,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 700 | 200 | 1,700 | N/A | 19,100 | 19,100 |
Is the flow of Silver Eagles finally slowing or is the Mint rationing less?