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| Precious metals ended slightly higher Wednesday. Sales of U.S. Mint Silver Eagles also gained. |
Gold advanced on Wednesday for the first time this week while silver extended gains to a fourth straight session.
Gold for April delivery added $4.20, or 0.3%, to settle at$1,264.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"This is more of a bounce back from yesterday and consolidation ahead of Friday’s jobs report as the focus is really going to continue to be the likelihood of a Fed rate hike in the third quarter of this year," Reuters quoted David Meger, director of metals trading for High Ridge Futures in Chicago.
Gold traded from a low of $1,256.90 to a high of $1,273.30. Gold prices on Tuesday fell $16.60, or 1.3%.
Silver for March delivery added 7 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $17.40 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $17.17 to $17.67. The precious metal has jumped 63 cents, or 3.7%, since it last ended down on Jan. 29.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
- April platinum rose $3.70, or 0.3%, to $1,238.90 an ounce, trading between $1,231.80 and $1,247.80.
- Palladium for March delivery tacked on $4.20, or 0.5%, to $790.20 an ounce, ranging from $784.25 to $799.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals were mixed. In comparing London bullion Fix prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold rose $4.25, or 0.3%, to $1,268.50 an ounce,
- Silver declined 20 cents, or 1.1%, to $17.39 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $10, or 0.8%, to $1,238 an ounce, and
- Palladium was unchanged at $792 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in February
United States Mint sales of its 2015 American Silver Eagles rose by 31,000. Sales of the silver coins also advanced late in the day on Tuesday, climbing 188,500. Released on Jan. 12, their just over three-week total stands at 6,140,500. Last year at this time Silver Eagle sales had reached 5,570,000.
Below are sales of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold on Wednesday, on Tuesday, last week, this week so far, in January, and the year-to-date. Coins with an asterisk (*) have sold out for 2014 with 2015-dated versions yet to be released.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Tuesday Sales | Last Week | This Week | January Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 51,500 | 53,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36,000 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 15,000 | 5,000 | 115,000 | 120,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 34,500 | 35,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 31,000 | 188,500 | 769,500 | 610,500 | 5,530,000 | 6,140,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 600 | 600 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
