Gold ended down for a sixth consecutive session on Wednesday, slumping to a more than four-and-a-half year low. Silver, platinum and palladium also declined.
Gold for December delivery fell $22, or 1.9%, to settle at $1,145.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold hit a high of $1,169.30 and touched a low of $1,137.10, the weakest price since April 2010.
"There is very little on the horizon that is bullish. Despite the trillions of dollars of stimulus over the past several years, most central bankers are worried about deflation, not inflation," Reuters quoted INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir. "In addition, the roaring U.S. equity markets continue to siphon off assets away from alternative investments, including gold."
Silver for December delivery plunged 51 cents, or 3.2%, to close at $15.44 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $15.12 to $16.05. The low marked the cheapest price for silver since February 2010.
In rounding out the precious metals complex:
-
January platinum shed $14.10, or 1.2%, to $1,210.60 an ounce, trading between $1,197.30 and $1,226.40.
- Palladium for December delivery tumbled $32.80, or 4.2%, to $757.85 an ounce, ranging from $755.10 to $787.55.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals fell as well. In contrasting London bullion Fix prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $24.50, or 2.1%, to $1,142 an ounce,
- Silver dived 80 cents, or 5%, to $15.32 an ounce,
- Platinum declined $25, or 2%, to $1,203 an ounce, and
- Palladium fell $35, or 4.4%, to $763 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in November
United States Mint bullion coin sales advanced later in the day on Tuesday and on Wednesday. Gold coin sales this week are already higher than last week. Silver coin sales were moving fast, but suddenly stopped. The biggest coin news of the day was the Mint’s announcement that it temporarily sold out of Silver Eagles.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold on Wednesday, on Tuesday, last week, this week so far, last month, and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | October Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | N/A | 400 | 16,700 | |||
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 9,000 | 1,000 | 11,000 | 20,500 | 57,500 | 374,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 6,000 | 40,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 2,000 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 104,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 10,000 | 0 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 50,000 | 505,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 2,000 | 0 | 500 | 4,500 | 21,000 | 165,000 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 205,000 | 430,000 | 1,850,000 | 1,260,000 | 5,790,000 | 39,301,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 900 | 22,800 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22,000 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 400 | 0 | 600 | 4,200 | 16,800 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | N/A | 22,000 | N/A | 22,000 |
@ Coin News
I’d like to forward some photos I took of the recently released Kennedy 4-coin set. Specifically, the “D” minted coin. Can you e-mail with a phone number that can receive close up photos? I’d like to add them to CoinNews.net for others to chime in on. I’ve already sent them to VA Rich.
VA Rich — call me when you have an opportunity to review the photos I sent you.