Precious metals posted another day of declines on Wednesday. Their losses ranged from 0.2% for gold to 1.8% for silver.
Down for a second session following three straight gains, gold for February delivery dipped $2.90 to settle at $1,907 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold and silver prices are weaker midday U.S. trading Wednesday, pressured by profit taking from the shorter-term futures traders and by a rebound in the U.S. dollar index today, as well as crude oil backing well down from its early-session high," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,898.60 and $1,928.80. They declined 0.6% in the start to the trading week on Tuesday. On Friday, gold at $1,921.70 an ounce scored its highest settlement since April 22.
Falling for the second time after two straight gains, silver for March delivery dropped 42.1 cents to settle at $23.647 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23.55 and $24.50. They lost 1.3% on Tuesday. On Friday, silver at $24.372 an ounce logged its best finish since April 21.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
April platinum eased $3.20, or 0.3%, to $1,043.70 an ounce, trading between $1,036.50 and $1,085.10.
- Palladium for March delivery fell $28, or 1.6%, to $1,706 an ounce, ranging from $1,691.50 to $1,794.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Published United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged on 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 | November | December | 2022 Sales | Last Week | This Week | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 850,000 | 90,000 | 11,000 | 101,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 | 34,000 | 1,000 | 35,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 140,000 | 50,000 | 2,000 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 575,000 | 115,000 | 0 | 115,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,500 | 0 | 410,000 | 44,000 | 500 | 44,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,407,000 | 59,000 | 15,963,500 | 3,499,000 | 500,000 | 3,949,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bargain prices on Palladium this year.