Precious metals advanced on Wednesday on the heels of a Labor Department report showing U.S. inflation jumping to a more than 30-year high. Gold ended the day at a 21-week high.
Gold for December delivery rose $17.50, or 1%, to settle at $1,848.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since June 16 when gold closed at $1,861.40 an ounce.
"Hot inflation numbers from the U.S. and China fueled buying interest in the precious metals markets today, as traders and investors are seeking out hard-asset hedges against rising prices," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
The Labor Department reported Wednesday that consumer prices rose 0.9% in October from 0.4% in September and year-on-year inflation jumped 6.2%, following a 5.4% increase, marking the biggest gain since November 1990.
"Once again we have hot inflationary data," Reuters quoted David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures. "Gold being the quintessential hedge against inflation, we believe inflation is the underlying positive environment that will foster the gold market rally in the weeks and months ahead."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,823 to a high of $1,870.60. They edged up 0.2% on Tuesday and they rose 0.6% on Monday.
Silver for December delivery tacked on 45.4 cents, or 1.9%, to settle at $24.772 an ounce. The close was the best since Sept. 3 when silver finished at $24.802 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $24.04 and $24.22.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
January platinum added $15.60, or 1.5%, to $1,077 an ounce, ranging from $1,054.60 to $1,099.
- Palladium for December added $16.80, or 0.8%, to $2,038.90 an ounce, trading between $2,000 and $2,067.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
Published 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 | September | October | November | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 17,500 | 19,000 | 67,500 | 135,500 | 36,500 | 985,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 4,000 | 7,000 | 3,000 | 91,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 22,000 | 6,000 | 156,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 35,000 | 85,000 | 15,000 | 465,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 13,500 | 24,000 | 41,000* | 13,500 | 314,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 474,500 | 0 | 2,735,000 | 1,076,000 | 474,500 | 27,226,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 7,900 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7,900 | 82,900 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,900 |
*On Tuesday, the U.S. Mint adjusted October bullion sales for American Buffalo gold coins. Their sales increased by another 2,500 ounces for a monthly total of 41,000 ounces.
This article was edited to correct statements about gold’s settlement at a 21-week high instead of a 15-week a high.
Yes. But we might want to save the old ones for possible TP use.
The really sad part of these numbers from the BLS, if they say inflation is 6.2% you can bet your sweet bippy the “real” inflation rate is much much higher.