Most precious metals prices advanced in pre-holiday trading Wednesday. Markets in the U.S. are closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and re-open to an abbreviated trading schedule on Friday. Platinum was among the day’s winners, posting its ninth gain in ten sessions.
Gold for December delivery edged up 90 cents, or 0.05%, to settle at $1,805.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold and silver futures prices are modestly up in midday U.S. trading Wednesday, on some short covering in the futures market and some perceived bargain hunting in the cash market … Gold and silver have been socked this week by much better risk appetite in the marketplace," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily research note.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,798.60 to a high of $1,816.30. They lost 1.8% on Tuesday — ending at their worst price since July 16, and they fell 1.9% on Monday.
Silver for December delivery rose 6.2 cents, or 0.3%, to close at $23.362. Silver futures traded between $23.11 and $23.55. They declined 1.4% on Tuesday, for their lowest settlement since Sept. 25, and they lost 3% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
January platinum gained $11.50, or 1.2%, to $969.80 an ounce, ranging from $951.80 to $973.40.
- Palladium for March delivery — the new, most-active contract — declined $7.10, or 0.3%, to $2,364.70 an ounce, trading between $2,344.90 and $2,370.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold added $10.60, or 0.6%, to $1,810.20 an ounce.
- Silver added 25.5 cents, or 1.1%, to $23.41 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. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Last Week | This Week | September | October | November | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 23,500 | 7,000 | 18,500 | 64,500 | 59,500 | 681,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 68,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 10,000 | 106,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 10,000 | 25,000 | 30,000 | 345,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 4,500 | 19,500 | 19,000 | 227,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 754,500 | 625,000 | 2,958,500 | 3,397,000 | 4,081,000 | 28,614,500 |
| America Samoa 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Weir Farm 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Salt River Bay 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Marsh Billings 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Tallgrass Prairie 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56,500 |
