Gold declined for a fourth straight session Wednesday and then dipped further in after-hours trade following the release of minutes from the last FOMC meeting.
Gold for December delivery fell $1.50, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,295.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices were last near $1,290 an ounce in electronic trading.
"Gold prices sold off moderately in the aftermath of FOMC minutes that revealed Fed officials believe the U.S. labor situation is moving closer to normal, and with other clues hinting the Fed could raise interest rates sooner than many expected," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report.
Gold prices ranged from an intraday low of $1,291.10 to a high of $1,299.30. Gold dipped 0.2% on Tuesday on news of easing US inflation. The precious metal last closed higher on Thursday when it scored a third consecutive daily gain.
In rounding out the precious metals complex on Wednesday:
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Silver for September delivery advanced 9 cents, or 0.4%, to $19.50 an ounce, trading between $19.40 and $19.59. Silver prices in the previous session shed 22 cents.
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October platinum fell $10.30, or 0.7%, to $1,429.20 an ounce, ranging from $1,428 to $1,443.
- Palladium for September delivery lost $12.35, or 1.4%, to $868.45 an ounce, trading between $865.50 and $883.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals declined. When contrasting London bullion Fix prices and the LBMA Silver Price from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold turned down $1.50, or 0.1%, to $1,295 an ounce,
- Silver fell 24 cents, or 1.2%, to $19.42
- Platinum declined $15, or 1%, to $1,428 an ounce, and
- Palladium tumbled $28, or 3.1%, to $868 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in August
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged Wednesday as of 3:43 PM ET. Gains were logged later in the day on Tuesday with Platinum Eagles up 300, one-ounce Gold Eagles up 1,000 and Silver Eagles up 100,000.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold 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 | Current Sales Week | July Sales | August Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 400 | 300 | 0 | 700 | 13,600 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 1,000 | 26,000 | 14,000 | 238,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 80,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 25,000 | 20,000 | 405,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 500 | 0 | 5,500 | 4,500 | 121,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 225,000 | 330,000 | 1,975,000 | 1,510,000 | 27,613,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 500 | 0 | 29,500 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 0 | 20,000 |
