Precious metals futures ended in divided fashion Wednesday with gold and silver lower and platinum and palladium higher. All were little changed overall, however.
Gold for December delivery declined $4.10, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,202.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"A very upbeat U.S. economic report that lifted the U.S. stock indexes and a rally in the U.S. dollar index worked against the safe-haven metals today," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "There was also less risk aversion in the marketplace at mid-week."
Earlier Wednesday, ADP reported that 230,000 new jobs were created in September. The figure was well higher than forecasts and an increase from the 163,000 reported for August.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,200.80 to a high of $1,212.30. They rose 1.3% on Tuesday — ending at a two-week high, and lost 0.4% on Monday.
Elsewhere, silver for December fell 2.3 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $14.67 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.65 and $14.86. They gained 1.3% on Tuesday and fell 1.4% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
January platinum rose $2.20, or 0.3%, to $835.70 an ounce, ranging from $830.80 to $840.
- Palladium for December delivery added $2.30, or 0.2%, to $1,053 an ounce, trading between $1,038.60 and $1,058.40 an ounce. On Friday, it ended at $1,072.80 an ounce for its best close since late January.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $3.50, or 0.3%, to 1,201.20 an ounce.
- Silver added 23 cents, or 1.6%, to $14.735 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. 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 | Week / Oct. | 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 | 3,500 | 2,000 | 17,500 | 14,500 | 153,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 24,000 |
| $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 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 40,000 | 205,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,500 | 1,000 | 20,000 | 11,000 | 109,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 935,000 | 545,000 | 1,530,000 | 2,897,500 | 12,680,000 |
| 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 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 52,500 | 52,500 |
