Palladium gained on Wednesday for the first time in twelve sessions, while gold, silver, and platinum fell as a trio for the third day in a row. Both gold and silver marked their lowest settlements in four weeks.
Actually marking a fourth consecutive session decline, gold for February delivery shed $5.20, or 0.3%, to close at $2,027.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. For a third day, the settlement was the lowest since Dec. 13.
"Gold and silver prices are not trading too far from unchanged levels on the day in midday dealings Wednesday. Traders are awaiting the U.S. data points of the week: the December consumer price index report on Thursday and the December producer price index report on Friday," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $2,026.80 and $2,046.20. They edged down by 50 cents on Tuesday and they declined by 0.8% on Monday.
Elsewhere, silver for March delivery dipped by 2.5 cents, or 0.1%, ending at $23.066 an ounce. Similar to gold, but occurring for the second consecutive day rather than three days in a row, the settlement marked silver’s weakest since Dec. 13. Silver futures ranged from $22.93 to $23.29. They lost 0.9% on Tuesday and they dipped by a half cent on Monday.
In PGM futures prices on Wednesday:
-
April platinum declined by $13.90, or 1.5%, to $926.60 an ounce, trading between $926 and $948.
- Palladium for March delivery increased by $18.30, or 1.9%, to $995.20 an ounce, ranging from $981 to $1,020.50. The daily gain was palladium’s first since Dec. 21 when it settled at $1,228.20 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2024
On Wednesday, the U.S. Mint did not publish any changes in bullion sales. On Tuesday, the bureau reported bullion sales gains, including 16,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 850,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 9,000 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 | November | December | 2023 Sales | January | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 39,500 | 12,500 | 40,000 | 15,000 | 924,000 | 52,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 17,000 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 102,000 | 21,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 30,000 | 6,000 | 16,000 | 0 | 198,000 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 40,000 | 5,000 | 55,000 | 15,000 | 675,000 | 45,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 23,000 | 9,000 | 14,000 | 5,500 | 387,000 | 32,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 3,179,000 | 850,000 | 2,378,000 | 525,000 | 24,750,000 | 4,029,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 | 0 |
