Precious metals moved lower in the mid-week trading session Wednesday. Gold closed down for a third day in a row and silver for a fourth, and palladium snapped a seven-session winning streak.
Gold for April delivery shed $3.50, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,200.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. A stronger U.S. dollar, with the index hitting an 11 1/2-year high, was bearish for commodities.
"It is struggling to find the real direction and in the meantime it [gold] is reacting to the dollar and the U.S. data, which will continue to drive the market for now," Reuters quoted Bernard Sin, senior vice president at MKS Finance.
Investors are beginning to look ahead to Friday’s U.S. jobs report, opined analysts.
"The market is in a wait-and-watch mode ahead of the employment number," Bloomberg News quoted Mike Dragosits, a senior commodity strategist at TD Securities in Toronto. "What the Fed will do next will depend a lot on the Friday data."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,197.70 to a high of $1,208.40. They have declined $12.20, or 1%, since last advancing on Friday.
Silver for May delivery declined 14 cents, or 0.9%, to close at $16.16 an ounce. Silver prices traded through a range of $16.06 to $16.36.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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April platinum declined $7.90, or 0.7%, to $1,181.70 an ounce, ranging from $1,175.10 to $1,188.80.
- Palladium slipped $1, or 0.1%, to $830.65 an ounce, trading between $821.10 and $832.60.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals declined as well. In comparing London bullion Fix prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold fell $13.25, or 1.1%, to $1,199.50 an ounce,
- Silver dipped 10 cents, or 0.6%, to $16.32 an ounce,
- Platinum lost $7, or 0.6%, to $1,178 an ounce, and
- Palladium declined $5, or 0.6%, to $826 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in March
United States Mint sales of 2015 American Silver Eagles rose modestly Wednesday, up 21,000 to 587,000 for the month and 9,139,000 for the year.
Below are U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying time periods.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | February Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 3,500 | 2,500 | 12,500 | 66,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 22,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 38,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 50,000 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 1,500 | 12,000 | 48,000 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 21,000 | 777,500 | 587,000 | 3,022,000 | 9,139,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,500 | 0 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
