Silver prices advanced Wednesday for a third straight day while gold declined for the first time since Friday. Platinum gained for a second day in a row. Palladium, meanwhile, fell for a fourth straight session after having notched a record on Thursday.
Gold for April delivery dipped $1.40, or 0.09%, to settle at $1,643 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The Fed has given gold bulls a shot in the arm, as rising expectations for more coordinated policy easing by global central banks offer fresh upside to bullion prices," MarketWatch quoted Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM. "Even if the human toll from the coronavirus outbreak were to stabilize over the immediate term, investors still have to wait to find out what the eventual global economic cost is over the coming months. Gold is expected to remain supported amid such drawn-out uncertainties."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,632.60 to a high of $1,654.30. They jumped 3.1% on Tuesday and they gained 1.8% on Monday. A week ago Monday, Feb. 24, they closed at $1,676.60 an ounce for their highest settlement since Feb. 6, 2013.
Silver for March delivery settled up 5.8 cents, or 0.3%, to $17.246 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.07 and $17.34. They surged 2.7% on Tuesday and they climbed 1.7% on Monday.
In PGM future prices on Wednesday:
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April platinum added $5.90, or 0.7%, to $875.20 an ounce, ranging from $866.60 to $889.40.
- Palladium for June delivery shed $2.50, or 0.1%, to $2,385 an ounce, trading between $2,322.10 and $2,472. On Thursday, palladium scored a record settlement at $2,711.70 an ounce.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold gained $26.35, or 1.6%, to $1,641.85 an ounce.
- Silver jumped 44 cents, or 2.6%, to $17.25 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales increased Wednesday by 75,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles. 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 | December | January | February | This Week / March | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 38,000 | 3,500 | 1,500 | 43,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 23,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 60,000 | 20,000 | 10,000 | 90,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 21,000 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 25,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 75,000 | 0 | 3,846,000 | 650,000 | 750,000 | 5,246,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 14,500 | 9,300 | 1,500 | 25,300 |
