Gold Drops Under $1700, Silver Dives 4.2%, US Eagle Coins Rise

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silver and gold bullion bars
Gold and silver dropped to week-ago levels

Precious metals declined Thursday with gold falling 1.2% to close below $1,700 an ounce for the first time since Dec. 5 and silver diving 4.2% to settle under $33 an ounce for also the first time since Dec. 5.

On the Comex in New York, gold for February delivery lost $21.10 to end at $1,696.80 an ounce. Gold prices traded between $1,690.70 and $1,712.80.

"Once again, the gold market suffered a rapid and inexplicable price drop in early Asian trading Thursday, on reported sell stops being triggered. Sell stops are pre-placed market orders to sell if a certain price is hit," explains Jim Wyckoff in the PM Kitco Metals Roundup.

"That marks the third week in a row of such price declines that occur for seemingly no fundamental reason. Such moves are frustrating to the gold market bulls, and the silver bulls, too. The silver bulls were hit harder Thursday as it appears silver’s weakness began by following gold lower, but then heavier technical selling pressure set in for silver as the session wore on."

While silver was the best performing precious metal on Wednesday, it sank the most on Thursday. March silver settled at $32.355 an ounce, plunging $1.43 by the aforementioned 4.2%. Silver ranged from an intraday low of $32.28 to a high of $33.52.

In other New York bullion futures:

  • Platinum for January delivery declined $33.60, or 2.0%, to $1,612.80 an ounce, trading between $1,603.20 and $1,633.00.

  • March palladium shed $9.50, or 1.4%, to $691.65 an ounce, trading between $680.25 and $696.25.

London Bullion Prices

Precious metals in London were lower as well. In contrasting the most recent London PM fixings:

  • Gold declined $23.50, or 1.4%, to $1,692.75 an ounce,
  • Silver fell 41.0 cents, 1.2%, to $32.69 an ounce,
  • Platinum lost $32.00, or 2.0%, to $1,607.00 an ounce, and
  • Palladium declined $15.00, or 2.2%, to $682.00 an ounce

US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in December

Bullion sales on Thursday were limited to the U.S. Mint’s most popular coins. The one-ounce American Eagle gold coin climbed 1,500 and the American Eagle silver coin gained 200,000. A breakdown of the latest sales follows.

US Mint American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales
  Thursday Sales Last Week Week-To-Date Dec Sales YTD 2012
$50 American Eagle Gold Coins 1,500 24,500 8,000 32,500 626,500
$25 American Eagle Gold Coins 0 2,000 0 2,000 70,000
$10 American Eagle Gold Coins 0 4,000 0 4,000 74,000
$5 American Eagle Gold Coins 0 0 0 0 315,000
$50 American Buffalo Gold Coins 0 4,000 0 4,000 128,000
American Silver Eagle Coin 200,000 903,000 500,000 1,403,000 33,510,500

 

America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales
  Thursday Sales Last Week Week-To-Date Dec Sales All-Time Total
2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 0 2,000 0 2,000 21,900
2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 0 0 0 0 20,000
2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 0 0 0 0 25,400
2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 0 0 0 0 20,000
2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 0 0 0 0 20,000
2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 0 0 0 0 85,900
2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 0 0 0 0 39,500
2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 0 0 0 0 29,700
TOTAL 0 2,000 0 2,000 262,400

 

Sales above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the weight of the coin.

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