Precious metals futures closed mostly higher Wednesday. Gold logged its ninth straight session advance and ended at an almost 16-week high. The yellow metal did retreat, however, in after hours trade when minutes from the Fed’s last meeting were released.
Gold for February delivery gained $2.40, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,318.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Sept. 15 when prices ended $1,325.20 an ounce. Gold was last near $1,314 an ounce in electronic trading after the FOMC minutes were released.
"Gold prices were moderately lower and hit new daily lows in early afternoon action Wednesday, in the wake of a hawkish FOMC minutes report," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily bullion report. "Some normal profit taking by the shorter-term futures traders was featured, after recent good gains in gold and silver."
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,313.20 to a high of $1,323. They rose 0.5% in their start to the new trading week on Tuesday.
Finishing higher for a sixth consecutive session, silver for March delivery added 6.1 cents, or 0.4%, to end at $17.267 an ounce. The close was the strongest since Nov. 17 when prices settled at $17.373 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $17.06 to $17.29. They advanced 0.4% on Tuesday. The precious metal was last at $17.10 an ounce in after-hours trade.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
April platinum tacked on $14.50, or 1.5%, to $962.30 an ounce, trading between $943.50 and $965.90.
- Palladium for March delivery shed $4, or 0.4%, to $1,083.35 an ounce, ranging from $1,075.65 to $1,089.30. On Tuesday, palladium closed at its highest level since early 2001.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold rose $2.85, or 0.2%, to $1,314.90 an ounce.
- Silver added 6.5 cents, or 0.4%, to $17.125 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
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 3:02 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 / This Week | Last Week | December | 2017 Sales | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 0 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 38,000 | 228,500 | 0 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 37,000 | 0 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 64,000 | 0 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | 395,000 | 0 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 14,000 | 99,500 | 0 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 742,000 | 18,065,500 | 0 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35,000 | 0 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 |
| 2017 Ellis Island 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 | 0 |
| 2017 George Rogers Clark 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32,400 | 0 |
