Gold futures ended higher on Wednesday for a fourth straight session while silver climbed for a second day in a row and settled at a more than 11-month high.
Gold for June delivery added a dime to finish at $1,254.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since a week ago Tuesday when prices closed at $1,260.90 an ounce.
"Gold is following silver higher," Reuters quoted Ronald Leung, chief dealer, Lee Cheong Gold Dealers, Hong Kong. "One reason is that the dollar is weakening. Another reason is that there is heavy buying in silver in Shanghai. And that has triggered buying in gold as well."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,247.10 to a high of $1,259.8. They gained 1.6% in the previous session.
Silver for May delivery rose 16.3 cents, or 1%, to close at $17.135 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since May 18, when prices ended at $17.732 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $16.85 and $17.26. On Monday, they rallied 4.4% to close at their best level since May 22.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum tacked on $12.40, or 1.2%, to $1,028.10 an ounce, ranging from $1,007.40 to $1,025.80.
- Palladium for June delivery added $14.90, or 2.6%, to $597.05 an ounce, trading between $580.70 and $595.35.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $3.40, or 0.3%, to $1,252 an ounce.
- Silver added 35 cents, or 2.1%, to $16.97 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 2016
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged Wednesday. Below is a sales breakdown of United States Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Mar Sales | Apr Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 29,500 | 15,000 | 29,000 | 63,000 | 248,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 4,000 | 34,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 60,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 75,000 | 30,000 | 350,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 7,000 | 14,000 | 74,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,036,000 | 755,000 | 4,106,000 | 2,912,500 | 17,755,000 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 53,000 | 0 | 53,000 | 53,000 |
