Gold declined sharply Thursday amid dimming hopes that the EU summit will offer answers for euro zone debt woes. Investors looked away from riskier trades and turned toward the U.S. dollar.
"Gold is under pressure because the U.S. economy is showing no signs of strength," Phil Streible, a senior commodity broker at R.J. O’Brien & Associates in Chicago, said in a telephone interview cited on Bloomberg. "People are moving to the dollar since there is very little expectation the European leaders will find a solution."
Gold prices for August delivery fell $28.00, or 1.8%, to $1,550.40 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold traded between an intraday low of $1,547.60 and a high of $1,579.60.
"The picture is not pretty for gold at the moment, it hasn’t been," MarketWatch quoted Frank Lesh, broker and futures analyst with FuturePath Trading in Chicago. "Today is risk off."
In other New York precious metals futures:
-
Silver prices for July delivery closed down 65.1 cents, or 2.4%, to $26.291 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $26.105 to $27.125.
-
Platinum prices for October delivery — the new most active contract — settled to $1,389.30 an ounce for a loss of $24.00 or 1.7%. Platinum traded between $1,386.70 and $1,421.90.
- Palladium dropped the most. Palladium prices for September delivery declined $15.85, or 2.7%, to $563.90 an ounce, ranging from $560.60 to $582.50.
London Precious Metals
Precious metals in London fell in unison for a second straight day. When comparing the latest London PM fixings:
- Gold declined $15.00, or 1.0%, to $1,558.50 an ounce,
- Silver prices lost 2.5 cents, or 0.1%, to $26.81 an ounce,
- Platinum shed $6.00, or 0.4%, to $1,402.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium dropped $3.00, or 0.5%, to $576.00 an ounce
U.S. Mint Bullion Coin Sales
Sales levels for United States Mint bullion coins remained unchanged as of 4:32 PM ET. The following are the latest daily, June and year-to-date bullion coin sales totals as published by the U.S. Mint.
| Sales of US Mint American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Gains | June Gains | YTD 2012 | |
| $50 American Gold Eagle Coin | 0 | 49,500 | 279,500 |
| $25 American Gold Eagle Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 56,000 |
| $10 American Gold Eagle Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Gold Eagle Coin | 0 | 25,000 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 75,000 |
| American Silver Eagle Coins | 0 | 2,593,000 | 17,127,000 |
In coin news of the day, the U.S. Mint at noon ET released its 2012 Uncirculated American Gold Eagle. The 22-karat gold is a collector coin that closely resembles the bullion Gold Eagle.
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Bullion Silver Coin Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Gains | June Gains | All-Time Total | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 4,500 | 9,900 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,200 | 3,200 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 85,200 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 200 | 38,600 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 28,900 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 3,500 | 162,400 |
All United States Mint bullion coin figures in the above tables are in coin totals, not the amount of ounces sold.
