In precious metals Wednesday, gold and silver rose slightly while platinum and palladium dropped. Gold’s increase was a fifth straight. It also registered another, over nine-month high.
Gold for February delivery tacked on $7.20, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,942.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was gold’s highest since it ended at $1,948.20 an ounce on April 21.
"Gold and silver prices are firmer in midday U.S. trading Wednesday, as the market bulls stepped in to buy the weaker levels seen in early trading. A weaker U.S. dollar index and higher crude oil prices on this day are also positive outside market influences on the precious metals," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,920.60 and $1,943.20. They gained 0.4% on Tuesday and they edged 0.02% higher on Monday.
Silver for March delivery rose 19.2 cents, or 0.8%, to settle $23.941 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23.44 and $23.99. They moved up 0.8% on Tuesday and they fell 1.6% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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April platinum declined $20.70, or 1.9%, to $1,046.10 an ounce, trading between $1,038.60 and $1,067.10.
- Palladium for March delivery fell $47.60, or 2.7%, to $1,687.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,676 to $1,740.50.
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 | 11,000 | 3,500 | 104,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 35,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 140,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 575,000 | 0 | 0 | 115,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,500 | 0 | 410,000 | 500 | 9,000 | 53,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,407,000 | 59,000 | 15,963,500 | 500,000 | 0 | 3,949,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sir Kaiser, the Gold price chart for the past year you are referencing for the price comparisons is posted below. The early-March 2022 price spike followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine which began on February 24, 2022. The mid-April peak you mentioned followed the start of the Federal Reserve’s campaign of interest rate hikes which began on March 17,2022, combined with rapidly rising inflation rates which peaked in June, 2022.
When people feel uneasy about money, they turn to gold.
For people able to afford it.