Precious metals declined Wednesday. Gold and silver performed the worst, one day after they settled at multi-month highs.
Gold for February delivery fell $45.80, or 2.3%, to finish at $1,908.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold and silver futures prices are sharply lower in midday U.S. trading Wednesday, on some routine profit taking from the shorter-term futures traders and some chart consolidation after gold hit a two-month high overnight and silver scored a four-month high. No significant chart damage was inflicted upon either metal today," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily research note.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,902.60 to a high of $1,962.50. They climbed 0.4% on Tuesday — ending at their highest price since Sept. 18, and they tacked on 2.7% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery declined 59.8 cents, or 2.2%, to close at $27.042 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $26.70 and $28.11. They advanced 1% on Tuesday, for their highest settlement since Sept. 1, and they soared 3.6% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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April platinum gave back $9.40, or 0.8%, to $1,110.20 an ounce, ranging from $1,087 to $1,126.80.
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Palladium for March delivery dropped $45.30, or 1.8%, to $2,448.10 an ounce, trading between $2,405.50 and $2,500.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold declined $52.75, or 2.7%, to $1,887.60 an ounce.
- Silver rose 1.5 cents, or 0.05%, to $27.525 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
The United States Mint published their first bullion sales of the year with gains of a combined 63,500 ounces in gold coins and 2.7 million ounces in silver coins.
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 / This Week / 2021 | Last Week | October | November | December | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 33,500 | 2,000 | 64,500 | 77,000 | 48,500 | 747,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 13,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 70,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 16,000 | 0 | 8,000 | 10,000 | 0 | 106,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 45,000 | 0 | 25,000 | 35,000 | 0 | 350,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 15,000 | 0 | 19,500 | 23,500 | 10,500 | 242,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 2,700,000 | 0 | 3,397,000 | 4,805,000 | 751,000 | 30,089,500 |
| America Samoa 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Weir Farm 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Salt River Bay 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Marsh Billings 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Tallgrass Prairie 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56,500 |
Not much of a decline while working the 2020 fiasco I bought platinum at spot > $700. Steal of a deal. Anything on sale gold, silver, copper, palladium, I thank you.