Precious metals diverged on Wednesday, following two days of across-the-board losses. For the day, gold and palladium rose, while silver and platinum declined.
Gold for February delivery tacked on $11.60, or 0.6%, to settle at $2,047.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Technically, February gold futures prices Monday scored a record high of $2,152.30 and then promptly reversed course to sell off sharply and score a technically bearish ‘key reversal’ down on the daily bar chart. That’s one chart clue the bulls are out of gas and that a near-term market top is in place. The bulls still have the overall near-term technical advantage," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $2,035.30 and $2,053.40. They slipped by 0.3% on Tuesday and they dropped by 2.3% on Monday. On Friday, they settled at an all-time high of $2,089.70 an ounce.
Down for a third day following six straight gains, silver for March delivery shed 31.8 cents, or 1.3%, closing at $24.228 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $24.21 to $24.72. They fell by 1.5% on Tuesday and they declined by 3.7% on Monday, following their highest settlement since May 9 on Friday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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January platinum ended down $12.90, or 1.4%, to $893.70 an ounce, trading between $890.40 and $916.50.
- Rising for the first time in seven sessions, palladium for March delivery added $10.40, or 1.1%, to $950.70 an ounce, ranging from $937.50 to $980.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
U.S. Mint bullion sales last changed on Wednesday, Nov. 29, and those gains were the third for this month. Advances included 15,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 939,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 1,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
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 / This Week | Last Week | August | September | October | November | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 12,500 | 78,000 | 27,500 | 97,000 | 35,000 | 904,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 13,000 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 101,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 30,000 | 18,000 | 14,000 | 196,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 150,000 | 40,000 | 30,000 | 55,000 | 660,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 36,500 | 11,500 | 379,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 939,000 | 3,124,000 | 2,970,000 | 3,938,000 | 2,378,000 | 24,225,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
