Precious metals posted gains Wednesday that ranged from 0.2% for gold to 2.8% for platinum. Palladium scored a new record and silver finished at its best price since late August.
Gold for February delivery rose $2.80 to settle at $1,250 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The fact that we are seeing some risk coming back to the market: the stocks are climbing, the dollar is up and the yen is weaker, does remove some of the demand in gold. But overall, it’s holding relatively well but is missing a spark to move higher," Reuters quoted Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,247.10 to a high of $1,252.60. They declined 0.2% on Tuesday and they lost 0.3% on Monday.
Elsewhere, silver for March delivery jumped 22.3 cents, or 1.5%, to settle at $14.851 an ounce. The finish was the highest since silver ended at $14.859 an ounce on Aug. 27. Silver futures traded between $14.63 and $14.90. They rose 0.2% on Tuesday and they slipped 0.6% on Monday.
In PGM futures Wednesday:
-
January platinum advanced $21.60 to $807.10 an ounce, ranging from $785.40 to $807.70.
- Palladium for March delivery gained $17.20, or 1.5%, to $1,194.50 an ounce — a new record. Palladium prices traded between $1,174.10 and $1,195.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold dipped 5 cents, or less than 0.1%, to 1,245.30 an ounce.
- Silver rose 1.5 cents, or 0.1%, to $14.655 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 | This Week | November | December | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 16,000 | 1,000 | 189,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 230,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 5,500 | 1,000 | 121,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 150,000 | 75,000 | 1,645,000 | 225,000 | 15,435,000 |
| 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 | 0 | 0 | 52,500 |
| Block Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 | 0 | 80,000 |
