Prices of precious metals split on Wednesday following a day of across-the-board gains, with gold and palladium falling, and silver and platinum rising.
Gold for February delivery edged down by $4.40, or 0.2%, to settle at $2,047.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures traded between $2,042.50 and $2,056.90. They rose by 0.6% on Tuesday and they edged up by 0.2% on Monday.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery tacked on 31 cents, or 1.3%, to end at $24.631 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $24.24 to $24.75. They climbed by 0.9% on Tuesday and they shed 0.2% on Monday.
In PGM futures prices on Wednesday:
-
January platinum added $8.20, or 0.9%, to $974 an ounce, trading between $953.50 and $976.10.
- Palladium for March delivery declined by $14, or 1.1%, to $1,226.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,205.50 to $1,245.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Last Friday, the U.S. Mint published new bullion sales data, which includes updated figures for November and the initial figures for December. No further changes have been published since then.
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) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | November | December | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 97,000 | 40,000 | 12,500 | 921,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 7,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 102,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 18,000 | 16,000 | 0 | 198,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 30,000 | 55,000 | 10,000 | 670,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 36,500 | 14,000 | 12,500 | 394,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 3,938,000 | 2,378,000 | 368,000 | 24,593,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
