Precious metals futures advanced Wednesday, led by silver with its 1% increase. Gold trailed them all, rising just 0.2%, but it finished at a more than two-week high.
Gold for August delivery — the new, most active contract — rose $2.40 to settle at $1,306.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since May 14.
"A sharp drop in the U.S. dollar index today was a bit supportive for the precious metals markets. However, the USDX hit a 10.5-month high on Tuesday," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Several fundamental factors are in play in the marketplace at mid-week, but few seem to be having much impact on the precious metals at this point."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,300 to a high of $1,308.80. They slipped 0.4% in the start to the new trading week on Tuesday.
Silver for July delivery gained 17.1 cents to settle at $16.544 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $16.32 and $16.58. They fell 1.1% on Tuesday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum added $2.60, or 0.3%, to $908.50 an ounce, ranging from $903.50 to $911.90.
- Palladium for September delivery added $4, or 0.4%, to $975 an ounce, trading between $966.30 and $977.70.
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 advances for the first time this week. They were limited to one coin, however, with the 1-ounce American Gold Eagle rising by 6,000.
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 / This Week | Last Week | April | May | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 6,000 | 8,000 | 4,000 | 18,500 | 66,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 0 | 18,000 | 44,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 110,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,500 | 2,000 | 16,500 | 47,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 230,000 | 915,000 | 380,000 | 6,387,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 30,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
