Precious metals futures advanced on Wednesday with gold and silver snapping a three-session losing streak. Platinum and palladium closed higher for the first time since Friday.
Gold for February delivery added $1.90, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,087.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold remains a destination for ‘safe money’ during the flare ups of volatility and further weakness in global equities could fuel a continuation of the recent rally into the mid $1,100s in the near term," analysts at The 7:00’s Report said on Wednesday according to MarketWatch. But longer term, "gold will take its cue from the dollar and [U.S. Federal Reserve] policy expectations."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,079.40 to a high of $1,093.70. They shed 1% on Tuesday, dropped 0.2% on Monday and lost 0.9% on Friday. On Thursday, yellow metal closed at $1,107.80 for its highest settlement since Nov. 3.
Silver for March delivery surged 40.5 cents, or 3%, to settle at $14.156 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $13.75 and $14.21. They slipped 0.8% on Tuesday.
In other precious metals futures:
-
April platinum rose $12.70, or 1.5%, to $851.30 an ounce, ranging from $833 to $855.80.
-
Palladium for March delivery jumped $16.85, or 3.6%, to $486.65 an ounce, trading between $467.25 and $499.95.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices were mixed. In comparing their levels from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold added $2.75, or 0.3%, to $1,088.15 an ounce.
- Silver declined a nickel, or 0.4%, to $13.83 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2016
United States Mint bullion coins logged a third straight day of increases. On Monday, the bureau released its annual coins with a 2016 date. Advances on Wednesday included 4,500 ounces in gold coins and 354,000 ounces in silver coins.
The latter was all 2016 American Silver Eagles. Nearly 88% of the week’s supply has now been claimed. The U.S. Mint allocated 4 million Silver Eagles this week. With Wednesday’s gains, there are 500,000 left until more become available on Monday.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) have sold out.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Last Week | This Week | Dec Sales | 2015 Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 3,000 | N/A | 50,500 | N/A | 626,500 | 50,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | – | 0 | 13,000 | 1,000 | 75,000 | 13,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | N/A | 26,000 | N/A | 158,000 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 5,000 | N/A | 85,000 | N/A | 985,000 | 85,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 500 | 0 | 23,500 | 1,500 | 220,500 | 23,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 354,000 | N/A | 3,500,000 | 2,333,500 | 47,000,000 | 3,500,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | N/A | 35,000 | N/A | |||
| 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 | |||||
| 2015 Saratoga 5 Oz Silver Coins* | N/A | 9,200 | 45,000 | |||
