Gold prices notched a sixth consecutive session gain on Wednesday and closed at a three-week high.
Gold for April delivery settled up $5.60, or 0.5%, to $1,197 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price is the highest since March 4 when gold ended at $1,200.90 an ounce.
"Several fundamental factors worked in favor of the precious metals Wednesday, including a slumping U.S. dollar index that continues to be a major bullish underlying theme for most raw commodity markets," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Price action in many commodity futures markets this week has given the bulls some hope that those markets are at or near price bottoms," Wyckoff added.
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,186.10 to a high of $1,199.30. They have advanced $48.80, or 4.3%, since last ending down on March 17.
Extending a winning streak to five sessions, silver for May delivery tacked on 2 cents, or 0.1%, to end at $17 an ounce. Silver prices traded from $16.84 to $17.14. They have soared $1.46, or 9.4%, since closing lower one week ago.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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April platinum gained $5, or 0.4%, to $1,146.50 an ounce, ranging from $1,135.10 to $1,151.40.
- Palladium for June delivery added $1.70, or 0.2%, to $765.40 an ounce, trading between $761.70 and $769.75.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London precious metals were split once again. In comparing London bullion Fix prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold rose $3.50, or 0.3%, to $1,195 an ounce,
- Silver dipped 3 cents, or 0.2%, to $16.94 an ounce,
- Platinum added $14, or 1.2%, to $1,146 an ounce, and
- Palladium declined $3, or 0.4%, to $765 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in March
United States Mint sales advanced Wednesday for American Silver Eagles, up 72,000. The Mint’s silver coins at 813,500 ounces for the week so far are 27.7% higher than last week’s sales of 637,000 ounces.
This listing of U.S. Mint bullion products show the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | February Sales | March Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 9,000 | 3,500 | 12,500 | 29,000 | 93,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 24,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 8,000 | 44,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 15,000 | 0 | 50,000 | 55,000 | 220,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,500 | 500 | 12,000 | 8,500 | 55,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 72,000 | 637,000 | 787,000 | 3,022,000 | 2,855,000 | 11,407,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 5,300 | 20,000 | 13,300 | 33,300 |
