Gold and silver futures notched a nearly four-month high on Wednesday, extending their winning streaks to eight sessions in nine with four of them in a row.
Gold for December delivery advanced $14.40, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,179.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close is the highest since June 22 when prices ended at $1,184.10 an ounce.
"Downbeat U.S. retail sales and Federal Reserve data released today, bullish technical charts and a slumping U.S. dollar index all worked in favor of the precious metals bulls," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily report.
"There were also reports overnight that consumer demand for gold in China has seen a significant increase lately," Wyckoff added.
Gold prices traded from a low of $1,162.50 to a high of $1,188.40. They are up 2.1% so far this week.
Silver for December delivery tacked on 21 cents, or 1.3%, to close at $16.12 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $15.79 to $16.17. Silver’s settlement is also the highest since June 22, when prices hit $16.14 an ounce. On the week so far, silver is 1.9% higher.
In other precious metals futures on Wednesday:
-
January platinum gained $2.80, or 0.3%, to $995.40 an ounce, trading between $985.50 and $1,001.70.
- Palladium for December delivery jumped $15.50, or 2.3%, to $700.85 an ounce, ranging from $682.25 to $704.50.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices advanced as well. In comparing their prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold rose $8.70, 0.8%, to $1,173.90 an ounce.
- Silver added 23 cents, or 1.5%, to $15.84 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in October
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged. Below is a listing of United States Mint bullion products with 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 | This Week | Sept Sales | Oct Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 13,500 | 5,000 | 98,500 | 18,500 | 538,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 9,000 | 2,000 | 65,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 4,000 | 146,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 20,000 | 5,000 | 175,000 | 25,000 | 855,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 7,000 | 1,000 | 22,000 | 8,000 | 178,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,075,000 | 845,500 | 3,804,500 | 1,920,500 | 37,975,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 35,000 | ||||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 42,000 | ||||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 45,000 | ||||
| 2015 Bombay Hook 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 45,000 | – | 45,000 | ||
