Prices for most precious metals were little changed on Tuesday, with only gold marking the day with an increase. The yellow metal also reached an almost one-month high.
Gold for December delivery increased by $7.90, or 0.4%, to end at $1,973 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Aug. 4.
"Gold is trading at highs for the month as the weaker-than-expected ADP report and GDP revision continue a trend of softer economic indicators that will likely keep the Fed on hold in September," Reuters quoted Tai Wong, a New York-based independent metals trader.
Gold futures traded between $1,962.80 and $1,977.10. They advanced by 0.9% on Tuesday and they climbed by 0.4% on Monday.
Silver for December delivery, represented by the new and most active contract, declined by 3.5 cents, or 0.1%, settling at $25.104 an ounce. Despite this, in relation to the most active contracts, this settlement is silver’s highest since July 19. Throughout the day, silver prices ranged from $24.92 to $25.43, following gains of 2.2% on Tuesday and 0.07% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
October platinum fell by $2.80, or 0.3%, closing at $983.30 an ounce, with prices trading within a range of $978.50 and $993.30.
- Palladium for December delivery declined by $28.20, or 2.2%, to $1,229 an ounce. Palladium futures ranged from $1,228 to $1,257.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Published U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Monday, the U.S. Mint reported bullion sales gains of 79,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 603,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold (not total ounces) during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Last Week | This Week | June | July | August | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 36,500 | 19,500 | 35,000 | 41,000 | 72,000 | 738,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 75,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 134,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 0 | 120,000 | 505,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 0 | 17,000 | 16,500 | 19,500 | 312,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 756,000 | 603,000 | 1,482,000 | 209,100,000 | 2,942,000 | 14,757,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,500 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
Gold is closing in on being worth $750 more an ounce than palladium. Things change.