Gold and silver prices closed higher Wednesday, and then advanced more during after-hours trade in reaction to the FOMC’s June meeting minutes.
Gold for August delivery tacked on $7.80, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,324.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session with moderate gains Wednesday and showed a muted reaction [initially] to the afternoon release of the latest minutes of the FOMC meeting of the Federal Reserve," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily note. "Chart-based buying and some safe-haven demand were featured."
Gold prices moved from an intraday low of $1,318.70 to a high of $1,328.30. The precious metal was last at $1,329.50 an ounce in electronic trading.
"Investors are responding to the [FOMC] statement that indicates that concerns about the economy remain," Charlie Bilello, director of research who helps oversee $220 million of assets at New York-based Pension Partners LLC, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News.
Silver for September delivery rose 6 cents, or 0.3%, to end at $21.07 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $21.07 to $21.25. After-hours trading brought silver toward $21.19 an ounce.
In PGM futures:
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October platinum advanced $10.40, or 0.7%, to $1,506.90 an ounce, trading between $1,499.90 and $1,516.
- Palladium for September slipped 20 cents to $872.70 an ounce, ranging from $870.50 to $876.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals again changed modestly. In contrasting the London bullion fix prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold fell 25 cents to $1,322.75 an ounce,
- Silver added 5 cents, or 0.2%, to $21.13 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $5, or 0.3%, to $1,504 an ounce, and
- Palladium turned up $2, or 0.2%, to $873 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in July
United States Mint bullion products climbed with total sales of 2,500 ounces in gold coins and 132,500 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, this week so far, last month, the month to date, and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Sales Last Week Sales | Week-To-Date | June Sales | July Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 700 | 0 | 12,900 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 2,000 | 7,500 | 2,500 | 43,000 | 8,000 | 206,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 72,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 35,000 | 5,000 | 365,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 500 | 1,500 | 1,000 | 16,000 | 1,500 | 113,000 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 130,000 | 395,000 | 360,000 | 2,692,000 | 435,000 | 24,563,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 29,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 900 | 0 | 20,000 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 500 | -800* | 500 | 18,500 | 500 | 19,000 |
*On Monday, June 30, the U.S Mint reduced sales of Arches silver coins.
