Precious metals declined Wednesday. Platinum and palladium sank with respective losses 5% and 3.2%. Silver lost 2.2% while gold eased 0.4%. Losses in platinum, gold and silver were their first in four sessions. On Tuesday, silver registered a more than three week high and gold marked its best finish since 2012.
Gold for August delivery shed $6.90 to settle at $1,775.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"It seems like a classic battle between the bulls and bears after gold’s very impressive rally over the last couple of days," MarketWatch quoted Brien Lundin, editor of Gold Newsletter. "After such strength, it’s only natural to see some consolidation in the gold price, and it’s only natural to expect those with short positions that are under water after the rally to take advantage of a pause to defend their positions."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,770.60 to a high of $1,796.10. They tacked on 0.9% on Tuesday — hitting their highest settlement since Oct. 4, 2012, and they gained 0.8% on Monday.
Silver for July delivery dropped 39.3 cents to end at $17.67 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.42 and $18.26. They rose 0.9% on Tuesday, for their best close since June 1, and they gained 0.3% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum plunged $41.80, or 5%, to $804.60 an ounce, ranging from $795 to $847.90.
- Palladium for September delivery tumbled $62.60, or 3.2%, to $1,888.50 an ounce, trading between $1,865.70 and $1,965.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $2.85, or 0.2%, to $1,766.05 an ounce.
- Silver rose 4.5 cents, or 0.3%, to $17.855 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 | 10,500 | 2,000 | 105,000 | 5,500 | 40,500 | 325,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 41,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 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 | 500 | 0 | 28,500 | 2,500 | 4,500 | 123,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 457,000 | 0 | 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.
