Precious metals futures declined on Wednesday for the first time in four sessions, with gold retreating from a seven-month high and silver slipping from its best close in six weeks.
Gold for August delivery shed $4.30, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,293.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"When looking at the political news that lies ahead, the gold market is justifiably apprehensive," MarketWatch quoted Edward Meir, an independent commodity consultant at INTL FCStone. "Markets are nervous about the British election, as polls are all over the place," he said.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,290.40 to a high of $1,297.60. They advanced 1.2% in the previous session, closing at their highest point since Nov. 4, and climbed 0.2% on Monday.
Elsewhere, silver for July delivery lost 9 cents, or 0.5%, to $17.62 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.55 and $17.72. They gained 0.7% on Tuesday, ending at their best price since April 24, after rising 0.3% in their start to the week on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum dropped $15.70, or 1.6%, to $947.60 an ounce, ranging from $945.50 to $963.10.
- Palladium for September delivery tumbled $20.20, or 2.4%, to $828.20 an ounce, trading between $823.75 and $853.25.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,291 an ounce.
- Silver added 4 cents, or 0.2%, to $17.60 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 2:58 p.m. ET. 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 | Last Week | This Week / June | May | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 0 | 10,000 | 137,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 48,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 30,000 | 245,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 500 | 5,000 | 64,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 300,000 | 229,000 | 2,455,000 | 11,476,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 100 | 2,000 | 5,600 | 28,200 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,400 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | N/A | 17,200 | N/A/ | 17,200 |
