Precious metals futures gained Wednesday. Gold and silver each climbed 1%. Gold’s gain was its fourth straight while silver drove its streak of wins to five sessions in a row. Gold also ended at an eleven-week high.
Gold for June delivery tacked on $14.10 to finish at $1,360 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close was the strongest since Jan. 25.
"Both yellow and ‘black’ golds are currently finding support from heightened fear among investors that the U.S. and its allies may soon launch a military strike against Syria," MarketWatch quoted Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst with Forex.com.
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,342.50 to a high of $1,369.40. They gained 0.4% on Tuesday and moved up 0.3% on Monday.
Silver for May delivery advanced 17.2 cents to settle at $16.768 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $16.51 to $16.89. They rose 0.4% on Tuesday and gained 1% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum rose $1.20, or 0.1%, to settle at $934.30 an ounce, trading between $932.10 and $946.
- Palladium for June delivery gained $11.20, or 1.2%, to $960.95 an ounce, ranging from $943.20 to $964.30.
London Precious Metals Prices
LBMA bullion prices are available on the LBMA website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion sales advanced by 2,500 ounces in gold coins — their first gains in April — and by 50,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles. Sales splits for gold coins included 2,000 ounces in 1-ounce American Gold Eagles and 500 ounces in 1-ounce American Gold Buffalos.
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 | March | April | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 2,500 | 2,000 | 45,500 |
| $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 | 10,000 | 0 | 95,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 0 | 500 | 1,000 | 500 | 29,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 50,000 | 210,000 | 125,000 | 915,000 | 335,000 | 5,427,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
One can see from looking at the above posted bullion sales figures that it appears the $25 aka 1/2 oz. gold piece is the Rodney Dangerfield of American Eagles in that it gets no (or at most very little) respect. Anyone have an idea as to why that is the case?
Followup question: Why is the 1 oz. platinum Eagle given double the face value of its gold counterpart in spite of the fact that platinum is worth considerably less than gold?
Old Collector – hey, whats up! If it were *me, i*d buy the half.oz gold*eagle all day long! But that*s not the case with me* at this moment, *i always like there low mintage the *mint has been putting out as of the later years, & if *i could, i*d buy the 1.oz burnished gold*eagle every year also! Their both *good sleepers, down the line, & if the doogy*s ever hit the fan, they would even be better, the way *i look at them! On the *platinum subject, like *i sometimes say, there*s less *platinum on this earth than *gold,… Read more »
Hey Joe (shades of Jimi Hendrix) Brown, I’m with you there on that line of thinking, old buddy. Of course Double Eagles are nice to have for sheer total value, but I too find myself personally leaning toward the fractional denominations as a more practical, financially speaking that is, way of collecting gold coins. And as you point out, if push ever came to shove it would be a lot easier to buy groceries with the fractionals than with the whole ounce coin; after all, who’s about to make change for that? Regarding the platinum versus gold value question, historically… Read more »
Old Collector- hi, *i like the new look by the way! If that’s the case with gold as far as buying stuff with, *i for will not be using tenth.oz or 1.oz to make a purchase, or even silver for that matter! But *i will exchange my coin at the right place, for the value its worth, no ? about that! Hey, *i love tenth.oz gold, it’s just they mint more, the half.oz, from a collectable stand point of view, with the much lower mintage, *i know *i will get a better *bank for my buck. When nature takes it’s… Read more »
Hello there again, Joe Brown, I understand how using precious metal coinage for everyday purchase even in a financial/fiscal emergency situation wouldn’t sit well you; I would feel unbelievably reluctant to let go of my beloved coins in that manner also! Now, as to the matter of popularity of purchase versus eventual, long term value of ANY coin, that is more than just a bit of a puzzle, it’s truly a conumdrum. The question is this: Should one buy a coin only because it is at the time of its initial sale immensely popular and hope that because of this… Read more »
Great question my friend. I am very interested to see if people actually participate or just face book click lol. When it comes to dollar value on bullion there are many theories out there. Coins receive a dollar amount – circulation-bullion and numismatic as well. Rounds do not require a dollar value – some governments still mint bullion rounds as well as dollar valued bullion? Due to the fluctuating prices of precious metals, placing an exact dollar amount cannot be done. I feel it is used to deter the masses from placing them into general circulation. Businesses have the ability,… Read more »
Mouse, likewise my friend, You read my mind as that was precisely my own first thought after I had finished writing my comment with its attendant questions, to wit, would it be Mouse, Joe or Seth appearing here in time to provide helpful, useful and coherent answers or would they be superseded by a series of minus ones or even another dose of braindead garbage. One never knows, do one. But enough of that merriment. As to the actual matter at hand, I fully understand what you’re saying regarding the great difficulty if not the inevitable impossibility of being able… Read more »
Imagine being so extravagantly popular as to have one’s own breathlessly adoring entourage of The Minus Three Stooges!
Whoa, nelly…The Three Stooges times 2!
A moron convention of incalculable proportions.
Yippee ki yay, ————-! 😆