Precious metals kicked off the new trading month of March with gains after they logged huge losses in February.
On Wednesday, gold for April delivery rose $8.70, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,845.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Short covering from the shorter-term futures traders and perceived bargain buying by the staunch bulls are featured after gold hit a nine-week low on Tuesday and silver a nearly four-month low. Sharp losses in the U.S. dollar index at midweek are also supporting buying interest in the metals markets," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,829.60 and $1,852.50. They rose 0.7% on Tuesday, slightly trimming their loss to 5.6% in February.
Silver for May delivery moved up 2.4 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $21.095 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $20.94 to $21.29. They gained 1.3% on Tuesday, placing their loss in February at 11.6%.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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April platinum added $6.30, or 0.7%, to $961.80 an ounce, trading between $951.20 and $973.40.
- Palladium for June delivery rose $16.70, or 1.2%, to $1,437.60 an ounce, ranging from $1,408.50 to $1,466.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Published United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged on Wednesday and Tuesday, after rising Monday for the first time since Feb. 7. 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 | January Sales | February | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 26,500 | 118,000 | 35,500 | 153,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 37,000 | 6,000 | 43,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 62,000 | 6,000 | 68,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 115,000 | 80,000 | 195,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,500 | 59,000 | 15,500 | 74,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 450,000 | 3,949,000 | 900,000 | 4,849,000 |
