Gold prices returned to positive territory Wednesday, clocking gains in seven of the last eight sessions.
Gold for August delivery edged up 70 cents to settle at $1,272.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices traded from an intraday low of $1,266.50 to a high of $1,274.80.
"I think gold had broadly priced in the FOMC results, and now we’ve got a little bit of light buying coming in, but it’s not substantial," Marketwatch quoted Jim Steel, a precious metals analyst at HSBC.
Gold prices were little changed following the FOMC statement that revealed no adjustments to U.S. monetary policy as the Fed continued, as expected, to reduce the monthly bond purchases by $10 billion.
In other precious metals on Wednesday:
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Silver has advanced in 12 of the last 13 sessions. Silver for July delivery tacked on 5 cents, or 0.2%, to $19.78 an ounce, ranging from $19.67 to $19.79.
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July platinum settled up $7.70, or 0.5%, to $1,450.80 an ounce, trading between $1,438.50 and $1,464.
- Palladium for September delivery added $5.95, or 0.7%, to $822.65 an ounce, ranging from $817.25 to $834.50.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals moved higher as well. In contrasting London fix prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold gained $2.25, or 0.2%, to $1,269.75 an ounce,
- Silver rose 18 cents, or 0.9%, to $19.73 an ounce,
- Platinum added $24, or 1.7%, to $1,451 an ounce, and
- Palladium surged $17, or 2.1%, to $827 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in June
Sales of United States Mint bullion products climbed 4,500 ounces in gold coins and 164,000 ounces in silver coins. Gold coin sales are at 12,000 ounces for the week so far, which is 26.3% higher than sales from all last week. Silver coin sales at 594,000 ounces on the week have a way to go to catch last week’s total of 745,000 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 | Weekly Sales | May Sales | June Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 200 | 0 | 1,000 | 700 | 12,900 |
| $50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 4,500 | 7,000 | 8,500 | 29,000 | 26,000 | 181,500 |
| $25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 0 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 0 | 68,000 |
| $5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 35,000 | 15,000 | 340,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 3,500 | 12,500 | 9,000 | 104,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 155,000 | 675,000 | 580,000 | 3,988,500 | 1,925,000 | 23,361,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 0 | 4,000 | 1,000 | 28,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19,100 | 500 | 19,600 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 1,800 | 13,500 | 2,800 | N/A | 16,300 | 16,300 |
In related coin news, for a look at numismatic U.S. Mint coin sales, read this article.
