Gold futures declined Wednesday for their eleventh loss in twelve sessions. Prices then climbed in after-hours trade when the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points.
Gold for April delivery fell $1.90, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,200.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the lowest since Jan. 30 when prices ended at $1,196 an ounce. Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,196.80 to a high of $1,222. In electronic trading after the Fed news, the yellow metal neared $1,224 an ounce.
The Federal Open Market Committee is "saying that it will be slow and steady with rate rises," MarketWatch quoted Peter Spina, president of GoldSeek.com. "With gold pricing in this rate rise and tilted toward more aggressive or a surprise upside, [that] will keep the price well supported around $1,200 with the possibility of a short-term run toward $1,225-$1,240," he said.
Elsewhere, silver for May delivery was unchanged at $16.923 an ounce, matching its settlement on Friday for the lowest close since Jan. 26. Silver futures traded between $16.82 and $17.37. The precious metal was last near $17.50 an ounce in after-hours trading.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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April platinum settled down $2.10, or 0.2%, to $936.80 an ounce, ranging from $932.90 to $956.
- Palladium for June delivery rose $3.75, or 0.5%, to $745.45 an ounce, trading between $741.40 and $766.50.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $5.80, or 0.5%, to $1,198.80 an ounce.
- Silver lost 9 cents, or 0.5%, to $16.910 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
U.S. Mint bullion sales logged their first gains of the week. Advances included 5,000 ounces in American Eagle and Buffalo gold coins and 220,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. 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 / This Week | Last Week | Feb Sales | Mar Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 2,500 | 3,500 | 21,000 | 6,000 | 111,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 0 | 5,000 | 1,000 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 40,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 10,000 | 30,000 | 15,000 | 170,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,500 | 500 | 15,000 | 2,000 | 49,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 220,000 | 280,000 | 1,215,000 | 500,000 | 6,842,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 19,500 | 0 | 19,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | ||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | ||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | ||||
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
