Precious metals futures advanced for a second session in a row Wednesday. Gold and silver, the day’s two strongest metal gainers, logged fresh one-month highs.
Gold for December delivery added $20.20, or 1.6%, to settle at $1,308.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since Oct. 3. Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,288.40 to a high of $1,309.10. They moved up 1.2% in the previous session.
Prices edged slightly lower in after-hours trade following the Fed announcement to keep interest rates unchanged.
"The Fed, as expected, gave the election wide berth providing a modestly more hawkish statement which may have mollified Boston Fed President Rosengren enough to prevent a second consecutive dissent," Reuters quoted Tai Wong, director of base and precious metals trading for BMO Capital Markets in New York. "Gold and silver are marginally off their highs after recent sharp gains as the Fed refrains from further inflaming electoral anxiety."
Silver for December delivery tacked on 27.5 cents, or 1.5%, to $18.693 an ounce — like for gold, its highest settlement since Oct. 3. Silver futures traded between $18.36 and $18.75. They surged 3.5% on Tuesday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
January platinum moved up $3.90, or 0.4%, to $1,001.80 an ounce, ranging from $985.60 to $1,003.90.
- Palladium for December delivery inched up 40 cents to $634.50 an ounce, trading between $628.05 and $636.40.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold added $15.30, or 1.2%, to $1,303.75 an ounce.
- Silver added 30 cents, or 1.6%, to $18.54 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 products registered increases of 8,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 2,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion coins with columns listing the number of bullion 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 | Oct Sales | Nov Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins* | – | 20,000 | ||||
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 7,000 | 17,500 | 14,500 | 100,500 | 8,000 | 673,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 1,000 | 65,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 16,000 | 0 | 132,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 5,000 | 20,000 | 10,000 | 75,000 | 5,000 | 780,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 3,500 | 6,000 | 28,500 | 3,000 | 180,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 250,000 | 370,000 | 3,825,000 | 220,000 | 34,620,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 105,000 | ||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 75,000 | ||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 0 | 36,500 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 500 | 300 | 3,100 | 300 | 32,900 |
This article was edited to include updated U.S. Mint bullion figures that were published after 5:00 p.m. ET.
