Precious metals were mostly lower Wednesday after climbing in tandem on Tuesday. In earlier trade, gold advanced above 1,300 an ounce for the first time since August but later retreated and snapped a 7-session winning streak.
Gold for February dipped 50 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,293.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The daily decline was the first since Jan. 8 when the yellow metal closed at $1,208.50 an ounce.
"Gold prices saw a modest sell off in late-morning Trading Wednesday, as a report the European Central Bank would indeed announce a quantitative monetary stimulus plan boosted U.S. and European stock markets, which in turn prompted some profit-taking pressure in gold," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Early on, gold prices had moved above what was psychological resistance at the $1,300.00 level and hit another five-month high."
Gold traded from $1,290.60 to $1,307, the highest price since Aug. 15.
Silver prices have advanced for five straight sessions. Silver for March delivery jumped 24 cents, or 1.3%, to $18.19 an ounce, ranging from $17.92 to $18.47. The precious metal has soared $1.20, or 7.1%, since last ending lower on Jan. 14.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
April platinum declined $10.20, or 0.8%, to $1,276.40 an ounce, trading between $1,270.80 and $1,289.95.
- Palladium for March delivery fell $10.50, or 1.4%, to $768.25 an ounce, ranging from $774 to $783.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals moved mostly higher. In comparing London bullion Fix prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold gained $4.75, 0.4%, to $1,293.50 an ounce,
- Silver surged 42 cents, or 2.4%, to $18.22 an ounce,
- Platinum tacked on $18, or 1.4%, to $1,285 an ounce, and
- Palladium was unchanged at $778 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in January
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 2:56 PM ET. 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, in December, last year, and the year to date. Coins with an asterisk (*) have sold out for 2014 with 2015-dated versions yet to be released.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | December Sales | 2014 Sales | January / 2015 Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,900 | 0 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 23,500 | 0 | 13,000 | 415,500 | 49,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 0 | 46,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 118,000 | 34,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 25,000 | 0 | 35,000 | 565,000 | 90,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 14,000 | 0 | 4,500 | 177,500 | 32,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,701,500 | 954,500 | 2.459M | 44.006M | 4.656M |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33,000 | 0 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 500 | 1,100 | 24,400 | 500 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22,000 | 0 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 21,900 | 0 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7,000 | 34,000 | 0 |
