Precious metals futures ended mixed Wednesday with gold and silver lower and platinum and palladium higher. Gold marked a three-week low but palladium scored an eighth-month high.
Gold for December delivery declined $6, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,199.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close is the weakest since also ending at $1,199.10 an ounce on Sept. 4.
"Since even the most astute G-10 traders are struggling for dollar direction, gold remains mired in no man’s land, smack dab in the middle of the well-worn $1,190-$1,210 range," Bloomberg News quoted Stephen Innes, Singapore-based head of Asia Pacific trading with Oanda Corp.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,194.60 to a high of $1,206.90. They inched up Tuesday by 70 cents, or less than 0.1%, and moved up 0.3% on Monday.
Silver for December delivery lost 9.2 cents, or 0.6%, to end at $14.401 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.34 and $14.55. They gained 1.1% on Tuesday, marking their best close since Aug. 31, and they slipped 0.1% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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January platinum — the new, most active contract — rose $2.90, or 0.4%, to $829.10 an ounce, ranging from $823.30 to $833.
- Palladium for December delivery advanced $9.30, or 0.9%, to $1,063.10 an ounce — its best close since Jan. 29 when ending at $1,083.40 an ounce. The precious metal traded between $1,047.30 and $1,065.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $7.65, or 0.6%, to 1,194.25 an ounce.
- Silver added 18.5 cents, 1.3%, to $14.475 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
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Wednesday. 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 | August | September | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 3,500 | 17,500 | 14,500 | 151,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 1,000 | 23,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 58,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 40,000 | 200,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,500 | 20,000 | 9,000 | 107,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 925,000 | 470,000 | 1,530,000 | 2,432,500 | 11,670,000 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Cumberland Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 0 | N/A | 52,500 | 52,500 |
