Most precious metals futures gained on Wednesday, snapping their string of three straight session losses, and most of them also advanced in January.
Gold for April delivery rose $3.10, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,343.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"An eroding U.S. dollar index continues to work in favor of the precious metals market bulls," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. " However, the USDX did move well off its daily lows in late trading, which pulled the gold market down from its session highs."
Gold futures posted their third straight monthly increase, climbing 2.6% for a second month in a row after edging up 0.5% in November.
Silver for March delivery added 18.3 cents, or 1.1%, to end at $17.241 an ounce. Silver futures gained 0.6% in January after surging 4.1% in December.
In PGM futures on Wednesday and for the month:
-
April platinum rose $2.50, or 0.3%, to $1,004.30 an ounce, for a 7% increase in January.
- Palladium for March delivery sank $28.90, or 2.8%, to $1,023.55 an ounce, for a 3.5% monthly loss.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices mostly declined on Wednesday and, conversely, mostly gained in January. In comparing their levels from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold added 15 cents, or 0.01%, to $1,345.05 an ounce.
- Silver declined 6.5 cents, or 0.4%, to $17.23 an ounce.
- Platinum dipped $1, or 0.1%, to $1,003 an ounce.
- Palladium declined $32, or 3%, to $1,051 an ounce.
As for January in LBMA prices, palladium slipped 0.5% while the other metals logged gains of 3.7% for gold, 2.2% for silver, and 8.2% for platinum.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
U.S. Mint bullion sales jumped in January, fueled by the Jan. 8 release of new 2018-dated American Eagle and Buffalo coins. Each series of coins scored their strongest monthly totals since January of last year. In headline monthly comparisons:
-
American Eagle gold coins reached 58,500 ounces — a 36.1% increase over the 43,000 ounces sold in December but 50.2% lower than the 117,500 ounces moved in January 2017.
-
American Eagle silver coins hit 3,235,000, jumping 336% from the 742,000 coins sold in December yet 36.9% lower than sales of 5,127,500 coins in January of last year.
-
American Buffalo gold coins reached 24,000, marking a 71.4% increase from the 14,000 sold in December while slipping 25% from the 32,000 moved in January 2017.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Last Week | This Week | December | 2017 Sales | 2018 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 4,500 | 1,000 | 38,000 | 228,500 | 36,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 3,000 | 37,000 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 64,000 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 25,000 | 395,000 | 80,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 2,500 | 500 | 14,000 | 99,500 | 24,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 40,000 | 325,000 | 140,000 | 742,000 | 18,065,500 | 3,235,000 |
