Precious metals closed lower in the mid-week trading session Wednesday, with gold, silver and palladium losing ground for the first time since Friday.
Gold for June delivery shed $2.90, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,190.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dip came even as the U.S. dollar retreated on the day. Investors are already looking ahead to Friday’s jobs numbers from the U.S. Labor Department, opined analysts.
"Gold prices were modestly lower overnight but received a mild, brief lift above unchanged in early U.S. dealings when the U.S. ADP national employment report for May came in at up 169,000, which is a miss to the downside," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily note. "Look for Friday morning to be the most active trading period of the week, in the wake of the jobs data."
Gold prices traded from a low of $1,187.40 to a high of $1,196.90. They climbed in the prior session by $6.40, or 0.5%.
Silver for July delivery fell 7 cents, or 0.4%, to $16.51 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $16.39 to $16.65. On Tuesday, the precious metal rose 14 cents, or 0.8%.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum declined $6, or 0.5%, to $1,142.80 an ounce, trading between $1,136.40 and $1,150.60.
- Palladium for June delivery fell $2.30, or 0.3%, to $792.65 an ounce, ranging from $788 to $796.80.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London precious metals prices declined as well. In comparing London bullion prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold eased $2.75, or 0.2%, to $1,194.25 an ounce,
- Silver slipped a penny to $16.41 an ounce,
- Platinum fell $12, or 1%, to $1,144 an ounce, and
- Palladium declined $2, or 0.3%, to $792 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in May
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged following solid gains in the prior two days. Below is a listing of U.S. Mint bullion products that shows the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | April Sales | May Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 11,500 | 2,500 | 23,500 | 2,500 | 125,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 29,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 30,000 | 10,000 | 275,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 1,500 | 10,000 | 1,500 | 67,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 678,000 | 783,500 | 2,851,500 | 783,500 | 15,706,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 35,000 | ||||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 500 | 10,100 | 30,000 | 10,100 | 40,100 |
