Gold advanced to a four-and-a-half week high Thursday, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar.
Gold for February delivery added $7.60, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,690.80 an ounce on the Comex in New York. The settlement price was the highest since Dec. 17. The yellow metal traded from an intraday low of $1,666.40 to a high of $1,697.80.
Gold felt pressure earlier in the day after the release of better-than-expected U.S. economic data — lower weekly jobless claims and a jump in U.S. housing starts.
"Good news on the U.S. economy will always be bad news for gold and silver bulls, as expectation of early withdrawal of [the third round of] quantitative easing … by the Federal Reserve increases," MarketWatch quoted Chintan Karnani, a billion analyst from New Delhi.
In other New York precious metals futures:
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March silver prices advanced 26.8 cents, or 0.9%, to $31.8102 an ounce, ranging from $31.05 to $31.93. The closing price was also the highest for silver since Dec. 17.
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Platinum for April delivery gained $6.40, or 0.4%, to $1,700.50 an ounce, trading between $1,671.00 and $1,706.50.
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Sister metal palladium was an outlier, the only precious metal to fall. March palladium shed 30.0 cents to $726.15 an ounce. It ranged from $717.50 to $729.90.
London Bullion Prices
Aside from gold, precious metals in London advanced. In contrasting the latest London PM Fix prices:
- Gold dipped $1.25, or less than 0.1%, to $1,675.00 an ounce,
- Silver added 27.0 cents, or 0.9%, to $31.50 an ounce,
- Platinum edged up $5.00, or 0.3%, to $1,683.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $11.00, or 1.5%, to $725.00 an ounce
Sales of US Mint Bullion Coins
Thursday was a strong sales day for U.S. Mint bullion coins. American Eagle gold coins advanced 8,500 ounces with all but the one-quarter ounce size gaining. The new January total across all sizes is 121,500 ounces.
American Eagle silver coins jumped 875,000 to 6,007,000 for the month. Today’s push resulted in a temporary sell out as their sales are now suspended until the Mint rebuilds an inventory. The U.S. Mint will begin taking orders again on Jan. 28, 2013 but in an allocated basis.
The latest daily and year-to-date bullion coin sales follow.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | 2013 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 7,500 | 27,500 | 20,500 | 101,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 1,000 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 14,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 18,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 5,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 90,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 22,000 | 3,000 | 39,500 |
| American Eagle Silver Coin* | 875,000 | 4,782,000 | 1,225,000 | 6,007,000 |
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | All-Time Sales | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21,900 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,400 |
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,700 | 4,000 | 95,600 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,700 | 0 | 41,200 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,700 | 0 | 31,400 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 9,100 | 4,000 | 275,500 |
Coin sales figures shown above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the bullion coin’s weight.
