Gold slipped in the mid-week trading session Wednesday, pressured by strength in the U.S. dollar, but was little changed after the release of the monthly FOMC policy statement.
Gold for February delivery shed $5.80, or 0.5%, to close at $1,285.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session modestly lower Wednesday. Backing and filling on the charts and some minor profit taking were featured following the good gains posted Tuesday," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "The key ‘outside markets’ were also in a bearish posture on this day, as the U.S. dollar index was higher and crude oil prices were lower. Gold showed very little reaction to the FOMC statement issued in the afternoon."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,279 to a high of $1,293.30. They advanced on Tuesday by $12.30 or 1%.
Silver for March delivery edged up less than a penny to settle at $18.09 an ounce. The precious metal traded between $17.95 and $18.13. Silver gained 10 cents, or 0.5%, in the prior session.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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Like gold, April platinum also declined $5.80 or 0.5%. It settled at $1,258.50 an ounce, with prices ranging from $1,252 to $1,267.80.
- Palladium for March delivery jumped $15.55, or 2%, to $796.30 an ounce, trading between $775.45 and $798.15.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals moved in the same direction as New York bullion futures. In comparing London bullion Fix prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold dipped 50 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $1,288 an ounce,
- Silver rose 14 cents, or 0.8%, to $18.01 an ounce,
- Platinum lost $5, or 0.4%, to $1,257 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $9, or 1.2%, to $787 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in January
United States Mint bullion sales advanced Wednesday with gold coins rising by 3,500 ounces and silver coins up by 161,000 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, 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 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 13,000 | 415,500 | 51,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 118,000 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 5,000 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 35,000 | 565,000 | 105,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 4,500 | 177,500 | 34,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 161,000 | 1.059M | 528,000 | 2.459M | 44.006M | 5,288,500 |
| 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 | 600 | 0 | 1,100 | 24,400 | 600 |
| 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 | 22,000 | 0 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7,000 | 34,000 | 0 |
