Gold Hits Record for Third Straight Day, Silver Rises

U.S. gold and silver prices continued to extend their gains Thursday, although advances were modest. Gold edged up 80 cents to a new record for a third straight day while silver added 16.5 cents to mark a fourth consecutive day at a new 31-year high.

June gold prices inched 0.1 percent higher to settle at $1,459.30 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold traded between $1,453.70 and $1,466.50.

"Gold, oil, the CRB Index, foreign currencies and Treasury yields are all screaming at Bernanke that it’s time to join Mr. Trichet in the fight against inflation," Michael Pento, a senior economist at Euro Pacific Capital in New York, said and was quoted on Bloomberg. "But the sad truth is that the double-dipping real estate market and the onerous U.S. debt levels prohibit interest-rate hikes without dire consequences in the short term."

Silver prices for May delivery rose 0.4 percent to $39.552 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $39.200 to $39.720.

Platinum prices for July delivery lost $7.20, or 0.4 percent, to $1,790.60 an ounce. Prices were between $1,777.10 to $1,809.50.

Palladium prices for June delivery fell $4.35, or 0.6 percent, to $780.25 an ounce. Palladium touched an intraday low of $773.15 and a reached a high of $795.40.

London PM fix bullion prices fell as compared to their PM fixings on Wednesday.

The PM gold fixing dropped $2.00 at $1,459.50 an ounce, the silver fix declined 12.0 cents at $39.510 an ounce, the platinum fixing retreated $28.00 at $1,780.00 an ounce, and the palladium fix lost $15.50 at $778.00 an ounce.

The one-ounce American Eagle Silver bullion coin was the only United States Mint bullion product to experience higher sales Thursday, according to the latest Mint figures. The .999 fine silver bullion coin advanced 44,500 to just over 13.1 million for the year.