Precious metals rallied on Wednesday with gold and silver futures each closing at about three-month highs.
Gold for April delivery tacked on $14.10, or 1.3%, to end at $1,141.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the strongest since Oct. 30 when prices ended a dime higher at $1,141.40 an ounce.
"There’s been a confluence of factors supporting gold, one of which is the change in sentiment about how the Fed will proceed," Bloomberg News quoted Fiona Boal, a London-based director of commodity research at Fulcrum Asset Management. "On top of that, the rout we’ve seen in equity markets and in other commodities has made people nervous about the state of the global economy, with a greater allocation placed in gold."
Gold prices traded from a low of $1,124.80 to a high of $1,146.20. They slipped less than 0.1% in the prior session. The yellow metal is 2.2% higher on the week.
Silver for March delivery surged 44.5 cents, or 3.1%, to settle at $14.734 an ounce. The close was the highest since Nov. 5 when prices ended at $14.98 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $14.27 to $14.82. They shed 0.7% on Tuesday and are 3.5% higher on the week.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
April platinum rose $24.40, or 2.9%, to $880.10 an ounce, trading between $852 and $883.80.
- Palladium for March delivery jumped $24.25, or 4.9%, to $515.55 an ounce, ranging from $489.60 to $516.35.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices also moved higher. In comparing their levels from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold added $3.50, or 0.3%, to $1,132 an ounce.
- Silver added 15 cents, or 1.1%, to $14.41 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 sales advances included 500 ounces in American Gold Eagles; 1,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins; and 25,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
This week, the U.S. Mint rationed sales of American Silver Eagles at 1,045,500 coins. The remaining 25,000 were claimed on Wednesday. None will be available until the Mint allocates more on Monday.
Below is a sales breakdown of United States Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Last Week | This Week / Feb | Jan Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 500 | 12,000 | 7,500 | 89,000 | 96,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 0 | 23,000 | 23,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 36,000 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 150,000 | 155,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,500 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 34,000 | 36,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 25,000 | 926,500 | 1,045,500 | 5,954,500 | 7,000,000 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | N/A | 41,800 | N/A | 41,800 |
Do we know how many of the bullion 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins the US Mint is going to produce and sale? And the P version as well?
Mark Rex – According to U.S. Mint spokesman Michael White yesterday February 2, the total mintage limit of the Shawnee ATB 5-ounce silver coins in both options (bullion version coins & Uncirculated “P” MInt mark coins) totals 150,000. That is the most the Mint plans on producing for this coin, but the split between the bullion version & Uncirculated vapor-blast finish version can be adjusted based on demand. Initially, according to Michael White, the split is set at 120,000 bullion version coins & 30,000 Uncirculated MInt marked coins. This mintage figure of 150,000 is over double the 65,000 mintage across… Read more »