Precious metals declined Wednesday, most of them modestly. The drop in gold and silver futures was their first in seven sessions, after they posted more than 2-year highs on Tuesday.
Gold for December delivery shed $7.90, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,364.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The decline was attributed to a stronger U.S. dollar and profit taking, and as investors looked ahead with caution to Friday’s U.S. employment report.
"Following the official jobs report on Friday, gold and silver will zoom only if the number comes in below 120,000. On the contrary, a number over 210,000 will increase the selling pressure," MarketWatch quoted Chintan Karnani, chief market analyst at Insignia Consultants.
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,360.60 to a high of $1,373.40. In the previous session, they settled at their highest level since Mar. 17, 2014.
Silver for September delivery fell 23 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $20.471 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $20.40 to $20.77. On Tuesday, they ended at their highest point since July 23, 2014.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
October platinum slipped $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,169.60 an ounce, trading between $1,160.30 and $1,174.20.
- Palladium for September delivery declined $3.85, or 0.5%, to $713.85 an ounce, ranging from $705 to $718.10.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold lost $4.85, or 0.4%, to $1,358.90 an ounce.
- Silver shed 12 cents, or 0.6, to $20.59 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
United States Mint bullion coins were unchanged Wednesday, and they have yet to hit the sales boards this week. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday / August Sales | Last Week | June Sales | July Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins | 0 | 19,000 | N/A | 19,000 | 19,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 7,500 | 62,500 | 30,000 | 436,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 48,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 96,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 25,000 | 70,000 | 50,000 | 555,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 14,500 | 10,000 | 122,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 175,000 | 2,837,500 | 1,370,000 | 27,620,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 34,200 | 0 | 34,200 |
The first 3 days of August have passed without a single silver, gold or platinum bullion coin sold by the US Mint to its 13 worldwide bullion coin Authorized Purchasers! What is going on with this situation?
-NumisDudeTX
Seth
Do you have Web coin page on the side, if you do please let me know what it is ,I enjoy your Valuable Coin knowledge and feed back.
charles –
I don’t have a website currently, but am always happy to share my 40 years of experience in numismatics anytime.
-NumisDudeTX
Seth
Thank you for sharing you experience and feed back, Sad to say as it maybe the True Numismatists are slowly fading away into what we have now to the day of the Coin flippers an TV Con men, The Day of enjoying the coin for its true meaning , association with history and in some cases knowing you are holding in your hand a Rare part of History and Time period that has come an gone , Thank you again an please keep sharing your experience.
charles – Sadly, the description you give of the current state of the numismatic hobby is mostly true. Not many new young collectors are joining the ranks & flippers don’t care about the coins – just about profits. That is why I only collect coins with designs I really like & if I have the extra money I buy 2 and if the market goes up I sell it, if not I give it as a gift. My four nephews love coins but can’t afford them, & they get my collection when I pass on. Therefore, I know they will… Read more »