Most precious metals futures fell on Wednesday and for the month, led by declines in silver and gold. The loss for gold was its fourth in five sessions as prices ended November near a 10-month low.
Gold for February delivery shed $16.90, or 1.4%, to end at $1,173.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the lowest since Feb. 5 when the yellow metal finished at $1,157.70 an ounce.
"It’s the old story of a rising dollar and interest-rate expectations being poisonous for gold," Bloomberg News quoted Thorsten Proettel, a commodity analyst at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stuttgart, Germany.
Gold futures tumbled 7.8% in November — their worst monthly loss since June 2013, after falling 3.3% in October. Two straight monthly declines pared their increase on the year to date to 10.7%.
Closing lower for the first time in four sessions, silver for March delivery dropped 25.8 cents, or 1.5%, to $16.482 an ounce. Silver futures posted a second straight monthly decline of 7.4% after climbing 2.7% in September. Still, they are 19.4% higher than their final settlement in 2015 at $13.803 an ounce.
In PGM futures on Wednesday and for November:
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January platinum lost $11.40, or 1.2%, to $909.90 an ounce, for a 7% monthly retreat.
- Palladium for March delivery settled up $7.40, or 1%, to $772.65 an ounce, for a rousing 25% monthly increase.
Both metals are higher year to date with gains of 1.9% for platinum and 37.5% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $8.45, or 0.7%, to $1,178.10 an ounce.
- Silver added 13 cents, or 0.8%, to $16.67 an ounce.
- Platinum added $3, or 0.3%, to $920 an ounce.
- Palladium added $9, or 1.2%, to $770 an ounce.
For the month, palladium soared 25.8% while gold, silver and platinum fell 7.4%; 6.1%; and 5.7%. London precious metal prices so far this year are higher by 10.9% for gold, 20.6% for silver, 5.5% for platinum and 40.8% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
Overall, United States Mint gold sales improved for a fourth month in a row, supported by American Gold Eagles which scored their best sales month since July 2015. November sales of American Silver Eagles were solid, but down from October. In headline bullion coin comparisons:
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American Eagle gold coins surged by 147,500 ounces in November, marking advances of 27.2% from October sales of 116,000 ounces and 52.1% from the 97,000 ounces delivered in November 2015. Year to date sales at 956,000 ounces are 19.4% higher than the 801,000 ounces sold during the first eleven months of 2015.
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American Buffalo gold coins moved up 29,500 ounces this month, rising 3.5% from the 28,500 ounces moved last month but sliding 22.4% from the 38,000 ounces sold in November of last year. Sales from the January to November period at 207,000 ounces are 5.5% lower than the 219,000 ounces sold during the same time last year.
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American Eagle silver coins advanced 3,061,000 ounces in November, slipping 20% from the October tally of 3,825,000 ounces and dropping 36.6% from the 4,824,000 ounces delivered in November 2015. Sales of 2016 American Silver Eagles at 37,461,500 coins are 16.1% lower than the 44,666,500 coins delivered during the same period in 2015.
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America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins climbed by 179,500 ounces this month after rising by 16,500 ounces in October. Both months lacked new releases. Most of the monthly gains resulted from sales of the newly released coin commemorating Fort Moultrie in South Carolina.
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 | 19,000 | 25,500 | 29,000 | 100,500 | 129,000 | 794,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 7,000 | 71,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 16,000 | 18,000 | 150,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 20,000 | 75,000 | 105,000 | 885,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 5,500 | 3,000 | 6,500 | 28,500 | 29,500 | 207,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 690,000 | 175,000 | 3,825,000 | 3,061,000 | 37,461,500 |
| 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 | 1,200 | 0 | 200 | 1,500 | 38,000 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 6,000 | -2,000 | 3,100 | 6,600 | 39,200 |
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 6,000 | -3,000 | – | 27,800 | 27,800 |
This article was edited to include updated U.S. Mint bullion figures for November that were published on Dec. 1.
Is there any new information regarding a palladium coin from the US Mint next year? It would have been fantastic if it was offered prior to the run up.
T
T –
The Mint’s new $25 half-ounce Palladium American Eagle coin is expected to be released sometime in 2017 and the obverse & reverse designs are both classic ones from sculptor Adolph A. Weinman. The Mint has been buying palladium on the open market all this year to be ready.
-NumisDudeTX
Thanks Seth. This will be my must buy item of 2017.
T