Gold and palladium were little changed Wednesday, each rising a modest 0.04%, while silver and platinum declined 1.8% and 1.5%, respectively.
Gold for June delivery inched up 60 cents to settle at $1,684.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"As countries and federal governments stimulate their economies with helicopter money, stimulus programs – it’s a printing press of money supply, which is generally a very favorable environment for gold," Reuters quoted David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,670.70 to a high of $1,693.10. They declined 0.6% on Tuesday and they gained 2.9% on Monday — ending at their highest settlement since Dec. 17, 2012.
Silver for March delivery fell 27.5 cents to settle at $15.205 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.11 and $15.45. They climbed 2.1% on Tuesday — ending at their best price since March 6, and they rallied 4.7% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum declined $11.40 to $733.60 an ounce, ranging from $725.70 to $760.20.
- Palladium for June delivery rose 90 cents to $2,095.20 an ounce, trading between $2,072 and $2134.90.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $1.45, or 0.09%%, to $1,647.80 an ounce.
- Silver dipped a cent, or 0.07%, to $15.065 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales increased Wednesday by 6,000 ounces in American Gold 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 | Last Week | This Week | January | February | March | April | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 6,000 | 43,000 | 12,000 | 38,000 | 3,500 | 133,000 | 45,500 | 220,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23,000 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 0 | 33,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 20,000 | 0 | 40,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60,000 | 20,000 | 95,000 | 0 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21,000 | 1,000 | 47,500 | 0 | 69,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 650,000 | 350,000 | 3,846,000 | 650,000 | 5,482,500 | 350,000 | 10,328,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 25,000 | 0 | 14,500 | 9,300 | 31,200 | 0 | 55,000 |
