Gold aside, prices of precious metals rallied Wednesday following their sharp losses the prior day. Gold, meanwhile, dropped for a fifth session in a row and registered its lowest close in two months.
Gold for April delivery slipped by $2.90, or 0.1%, to settle at $2,004.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Dec. 13 when gold ended at $1,997.30 an ounce.
"Gold is trading lower on the heat of the CPI data. It’s going to be hard for gold to rally because part of its rally north of $2,000 was on the expectation of Fed rate cuts coming sooner," Reuters quoted Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
Yesterday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that consumer prices increased by 0.3% in January, after moving 0.2% higher in December, while annual inflation rose to 3.1% from 3.4%. Markets were expecting a gain of 0.2% for the month and a rise of 2.9% on a year-on-year.
During the day, gold futures traded between $1,996.40 and $2,008.80. They lost 1.3% on Tuesday and they shed 0.3% on Monday.
Elsewhere, silver for March delivery rose by 23.3 cents, or 1.1%, ending at $22.387 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $21.97 to $22.52. They tumbled by 2.7% on Tuesday, marking their lowest settlement since Oct. 12, and they rose by 0.8% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices on Wednesday:
-
April platinum tacked on $18.40, or 2.1%, to $897.30 an ounce, trading between $876.80 and $903.60.
- Palladium for March delivery jumped by $74.50, or 8.7%, to $935 an ounce, ranging from $855 to $942.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2024
The published U.S. Mint bullion sales last changed on Wednesday, Feb. 7, with gains including 5,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 850,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 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 / Week | Last Week / February | January | 2024 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 3,000 | 87,500 | 90,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 46,000 | 46,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 20,000 | 115,000 | 135,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 46,500 | 47,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 850,000 | 4,900,000 | 5,750,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
