Precious metals futures changed modestly Wednesday as platinum declined and gold, silver and palladium gained.
Gold for August delivery — the new, most-active contract — rose $3.80, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,286.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"U.S. and world equity markets are under selling pressure at mid-week, amid some geopolitical concerns that are prompting just a bit of safe-haven demand for gold," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily note.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,283.80 to a high of $1,290.30. They fell 0.5% in starting the trading week on Tuesday.
Silver for July delivery finished up 9.1 cents, or 0.6%, to $14.411 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.32 and $14.45. They declined 1.6% on Tuesday, ending at their lowest price since Nov. 30.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum shed $5.40, or 0.7%, to $791.70 an ounce, ranging from $790.80 to $800.90.
- Palladium for September delivery gained $7.20, or 0.5%, to $1,343.90 an ounce, trading between $1,322.80 and $1,344.90.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold roe $3.35, or 0.3%, to $1,281.65 an ounce.
- Silver declined 10.5 cents, or 0.7%, to $14.375 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint 2019 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. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Last Week | This Week | March | April | May | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 1,000 | 8,500 | 6,500 | 3,500 | 74,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 19,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 15,000 | 25,000 | 5,000 | 140,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 5,500 | 6,500 | 3,000 | 44,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 566,000 | 140,000 | 850,000 | 1,196,000 | 866,000 | 8,987,000 |
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 78,000 | 0 | N/A | 78,000 | 78,000 | |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | N/A | 80,000 | |||
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 4,000 | 6,500 | N/A | 40,000 | ||
