Precious metals futures changed little Wednesday. Silver climbed while and gold, platinum and palladium declined.
Gold for August delivery shed 90 cents, or 0.05%, to settle at $1,735.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Technically, August gold futures bulls still have the firm overall near-term technical advantage but trading has returned to a choppy and sideways pattern at higher levels. Longer term, such action could be storing energy for another leg up in prices in the coming weeks or months," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,717.30 to a high of $1,739.30. They rose 0.5% on Tuesday and they fell 0.6% on Monday.
Silver for July delivery added 12.3 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $17.775 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.51 and $17.82. They gained 1.5% on Tuesday and they declined 0.5% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum declined $5.70, or 0.7%, to $838.20 an ounce, ranging from $825.70 to $845.60.
- Palladium for September delivery fell $17.20, or 0.9%, to $1,925.50 an ounce, trading between $1,898.30 and $1,948.20.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold added $4.50, or 0.3%, to $1,724.35 an ounce.
- Silver rose 6 cents, or 0.3%, to $17.47 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Wednesday. 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 | April | May | June | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 25,500 | 8,500 | 105,000 | 5,500 | 36,500 | 321,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 41,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 12,000 | 2,000 | 54,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 3,500 | 500 | 28,500 | 2,500 | 4,500 | 123,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 457,000 | 750,000 | 490,000 | 907,000 | 12,125,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 0 | 0 | 56,500 |
In terms of 5-ounce silver bullion sales for 2020, the U.S. Mint is working on getting them automated and reported. Initial U.S. Mint-provided figures have the first two 2020-dated pieces at 45,000 produced and sold per issue. These amounts are being verified.
FYI,
The mint posted that bullion sales for the first four (4) 2020 ATB were 45,000 each. Still no update as to sales on the 2019 ones. Sad.