Prices of precious metals declined on Wednesday, recording losses that ranged from 1.1% for platinum to 3.3% for silver.
Gold for February delivery fell by $30.60, or 1.5%, to settle at $2,042.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold and silver prices are sharply lower near midday Wednesday, pressured by a resurgence in the U.S. dollar index this week and by profit taking from shorter-term futures traders," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $2,038.30 and $2,074.30. They edged 0.08% higher at the start of the new trading year on Tuesday.
Declining for the seventh time in eight sessions, silver for March delivery dropped by 79.6 cents to close at $23.157 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23.04 to $24.95. On Tuesday, they shed 0.6%.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
April platinum shed $11.20 to $987.10 an ounce, trading between $976.20 and $1,001.30.
- Palladium for March delivery declined by $12.80, or 1.2%, to $1,071.10 an ounce, ranging from $1,056 to $1,102.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2024
On Wednesday, the U.S. Mint reported total bullion sales gains of 4,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 468,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 1,000 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 | Last Week | This Week / January | October | November | December | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 2,000 | 2,500 | 37,500 | 97,000 | 40,000 | 15,000 | 924,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 2,000 | 0 | 17,000 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 102,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 2,000 | 0 | 28,000 | 18,000 | 16,000 | 0 | 198,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 5,000 | 40,000 | 30,000 | 55,000 | 15,000 | 675,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | -7,000 | 21,500 | 36,500 | 14,000 | 5,500 | 387,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 468,000 | 157,000 | 3,179,000 | 3,938,000 | 2,378,000 | 525,000 | 24,750,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
