Precious metals declined on Wednesday after most of them logged modest gains on Tuesday. Gold prices marked a more than three-week low.
Gold for August delivery declined $9.50, or 0.8%, to end at $1,184.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The loss was the biggest since a week ago Tuesday and the settlement price the lowest since May 11.
"In its current mood, it seems little is going to shake gold out of its slumber," MarketWatch quoted Ross Norman, chief executive officer at Sharps Pixley. "To be fair though, gold was not as badly hit by the surge in the U.S. dollar as might have been expected — conversely it has not recently benefited as the dollar has corrected lower."
Gold prices traded from a low of $1,179.10 to a high of $1,195.60. They advanced $5.70, or 0.5%, in the previous session.
Silver for July delivery dropped 32 cents, or 1.9%, to settle at $16.48 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from a low of $16.38 to a high of $16.80. They gained on Tuesday by 12 cents, or 0.7%.
In other precious metals futures on Wednesday:
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July platinum shed $8.70, or 0.8%, to $1,104.10 an ounce, trading between $1,100.40 and $1,117.
- Palladium for September delivery fell $10.55, or 1.4%, to $758 an ounce, ranging from $752.25 to $769.95.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London precious metals prices were mixed. In comparing London bullion prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold dipped $2.80, or 0.2%, to $1,190 an ounce,
- Silver fell 10 cents, or 0.6%, to $16.60 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $4, or 0.4%, $1,109 an ounce, and
- Palladium lost $9, or 1.2%, to $764 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in June
Last week, United States Mint bullion sales were atypical with gains limited to a single day (on Friday). Coin sales have advanced every business day since. Increases on Wednesday totaled 3,500 ounces in gold coins and 150,000 ounces in silver coins.
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 | Last Week | This Week/June | May Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 2,500 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 13,500 | 140,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 3,000 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 10,000 | 58,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 5,000 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 40,000 | 320,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 500 | 2,500 | 1,500 | 9,500 | 77,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 150,000 | 375,000 | 925,000 | 2,023,500 | 17,871,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 35,000 | |||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 12,000 | 42,000 | ||
