Precious metals kicked off the new trading year Wednesday with modest gains. Silver and gold marked fresh milestone highs that ranged from more than five months to nearly seven months.
Gold for February delivery rose $2.80, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,284.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since June 14 when gold ended at $1,308.30 an ounce.
"There was some more safe-haven buying interest amid still wobbly U.S. and world stock markets. However, the main feature today was chart-based buying amid a much-improved near-term technical posture," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "The yellow metal is now closing in on psychological resistance at the $1,300.00 level, which if cleared would attract even more speculative buying interest."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,280.60 to a high of $1,291. They dipped 0.1% on Monday, closing out 2018 with a 2.1% decline.
Ending higher for a sixth straight session, silver for March delivery tacked on 10.9 cents, or 0.7%, to $15.649 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since the precious metal ended at $15.812 an ounce on July 16. Silver futures traded between $15.38 and $15.68. On Monday, they rose 0.7% to end 2018 with an annual loss of 9.4%.
In PGM futures Wednesday:
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April platinum gained $3.40, or 0.4%, to $804 an ounce, ranging from $787.90 to $805.60.
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Palladium for March delivery added $1.60, or 0.1%, to $1,198.80 an ounce, trading between $1,190.10 and $1,200.90.
London Precious Metals Prices
UK markets had been closed since Monday morning. When comparing those AM precious metals prices to the PM prices on Wednesday:
- Gold added $1.25, or 0.1%, to $1,282.90 an ounce.
- Silver declined 2.5 cents, or 0.2%, to $15.44 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales
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 | December | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 3,000 | 191,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 230,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 121,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 40,000 | 100,000 | 490,000 | 15,700,000 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Cumberland Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,500 |
| Block Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 |
