Precious metals futures finished higher Wednesday. Gold moved moved further ahead in after-hours trading following the FOMC announcement to raise interest rates by 0.25 basis points.
Gold for April delivery gained $9.60, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,321.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures traded from a low of $1,309.50 to a high of $1,328. They lost 0.4% on Tuesday — ending at their lowest price since March 1, and gained 0.4% on Monday.
In electronic trading after the Fed statement, the precious metal was at $1,332.50 an ounce.
"Prices extended already-good gains after the FOMC statement was issued," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily note.
"The other key ‘outside markets’ on Wednesday saw Nymex crude oil prices solidly higher and hit a six-week high. Oil prices are in an accelerating near-term uptrend on the daily chart. That’s also a bullish development for the precious metals markets," Wyckoff added.
Silver for May delivery advanced 23.4 cents, or 1.5%, to settle at $16.419 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $16.15 to $16.67. They declined 0.9% on Tuesday and rose 0.3% on Monday. Silver was last at $16.57 an ounce in electronic trading.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
April platinum added $5.60, or 0.6%, to $950.60 an ounce, trading between $943.80 and $960.80.
- Palladium for June delivery gained $10.55, or 1.1%, to $986.45 an ounce, ranging from $972.70 to $989.70.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold rose $10.35, or 0.8%, to $1,321.35 an ounce.
- Silver declined a half penny, or less than 0.1%, to $16.245 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Last Week | This Week | February | March | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 2,500 | 43,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 95,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,500 | 1,000 | 27,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 270,000 | 195,000 | 942,500 | 630,000 | 4,807,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
???! 🙂
There is a theory circulating out there that claims that all the world’s gold in private (non-governmental) institutional vaults that is being held in storage for paid-up customers has already been sold an estimated four times per each pound, and that therefore if these various multiple owners were to all try to claim their gold simultaneously there would be a total collapse of the private gold ownership system. Naturally, there is a corresponding supposition that the major gold-owning governments of the world are in fact being at least as duplicitous regarding the tonnage of the total amount of gold they… Read more »
If you can’t see it and hold it do you really own it???? Fools gold!!! lol
sam tweedy, That is apparently how this purported scheme works. Since one just receives an electronic and/or paper notice instead of ever actually taking physical possession of the gold one purchases, there is nothing to stop the same specific lot of gold to be sold any number of times. Until and unless one of the buyers requests physical transfer of their gold out of the vault and into their personal possession, no one has any way of ever being the wiser as to the fact that there are multiple owners, and for that matter exactly how many of them, there… Read more »