Gold slipped from a 2-month high Wednesday after a report showed U.S. inflation advanced 2.1% in 2016, the quickest pace since the 12 months ending June 2014 and for a full calendar year since 2011.
Gold for February delivery dipped 80 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,212.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"We expect a lot more aggressive rate hikes from the Fed in response to already rising inflationary pressures," Reuters quoted Capital Economics analyst Simona Gambarini. "Possibly there will be even stronger inflation due to Trump’s policies — it very much depends on what gets implemented at a fiscal level."
Early Wednesday, the U.S. Labor Department said consumer prices increased 0.3% in December amid rising gasoline and shelter costs. It also logged core inflation for 2016 at 2.2%. Rising inflation data supports rate hikes, opined analysts, which would likely pressure gold.
Traditionally, the precious metal was sought as a hedge against inflation.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,201.80 to a high of $1,217.70. They advanced 1.4% in their start to the new trading week on Tuesday, and marked their best close since Nov. 17.
Ending higher for a second straight session after falling for three in a row, silver for March delivery added 12.6 cents, or 0.7%, to $17.274 an ounce. The settlement is the highest since Dec. 7. Silver futures ranged from $17.06 to $17.36.
In PGM futures Wednesday:
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April platinum declined $11.20, or 1.1%, to $971.90 an ounce, trading between $963.50 and $983.10.
- Palladium for March delivery lost $2, or 0.3%, to $751 an ounce, ranging from $742.75 to $754.25.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold dipped $1.30, or 0.1%, to $1,214.75 an ounce.
- Silver added 12 cents, or 0.7%, to $17.12 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 2017
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Wednesday following gains on Tuesday of 12,500 ounces in gold coins and 825,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of 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 | Dec Sales | Jan Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 55,500 | 10,000 | 23,000 | 65,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 18,000 | 0 | 3,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 30,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 32,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 85,000 | 5,000 | 40,000 | 90,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 24,500 | 1,500 | 12,500 | 26,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 3,747,500 | 825,000 | 240,000 | 4,572,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | ||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | ||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 800 | – | ||
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
To see how inflation has changed the buying power of the U.S. dollar over time, use this site’s Inflation Calculator.
The U.S. Mint announced the new 2017-dated Platinum American Eagle $100 1-oz .9995 fine bullion version coins will be available for purchase by the Mint’s 13 worldwide bullion coin Authorized Purchasers on January 23.
Platinum spot price is down $13 this morning.
-NumisDudeTX