Gold returned to a more than three-week high Thursday after retreating Wednesday for the first time in five sessions.
Gold for April delivery finished up $6.30, or 0.4%, to $1,613.80 an ounce on the Comex in New York. The settlement price was the highest since February 26. Gold reached as high as $1,616.50 an ounce. Prices touched a low of $1,603.60.
Gains on the day were attributed to safe-haven demand on renewed concerns over the financial mess in Cyprus.
"There is a sense rippling through the financial markets that Cyprus is a game changer, that capital will flow away from the EU and somewhere else now that the EU has, inadvertently, put a new spin on ECB President Mario Draghi’s phrase ‘whatever it takes’," MarketWatch quoted Gene Arensberg, editor of the Got Gold Report. "Europeans probably never thought that would mean their leaders would seize their bank deposits."
On the same note, Miguel Perez-Santalla, vice president at online precious metals exchange BullionVault, was quoted by Reuters as saying:
"The Cyprus situation has ignited purchasing of gold from the public who are now becoming concerned that the same can happen where they live."
Silver prices tracked gold. Silver for May delivery gained 39.5 cents, or 1.4%, to $29.212 an ounce. The precious metal traded between $28.705 and $29.325.
Platinum and palladium on Wednesday stood alone with their gains. On Thursday, they were alone with their losses.
-
April platinum eased $2.40, or 0.2%, to $1,580.10 an ounce, ranging from $1,575.90 to $1,587.90.
- Palladium for June delivery lost $1.35, or 0.2%, to $756.85 an ounce, moving between $752.20 and $768.00.
London Precious Metals
Precious metals in London gained. In contrasting the Wednesday PM to Thursday PM London Fix prices:
- Gold rose $6.25, or 0.4%, to $1,613.75 an ounce,
- Silver inched up a penny to $28.91 an ounce,
- Platinum added $17.00, or 1.1%, to $1,583.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium ended up $14.00, or 1.9%, to $761.00 an ounce
US Bullion Coin Sales in March
U.S. Mint bullion sales advanced across the one-ounce coins. Gains were solid for gold coins, up a combined 10,500 ounces. Silver Eagles rose 34,500, which is modest for them. The latest sales figures for U.S. Mint bullion products follow.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | March Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Coins | 8,500 | 7,500 | 10,500 | 40,000 | 232,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 3,000 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 42,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 200,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Coins | 2,000 | 1,000 | 2,500 | 9,000 | 93,000 |
| American Silver Eagle Coins | 34,500 | 814,500 | 726,500 | 2,438,000 | 13,304,500 |
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | March Sales | All-Time Sales | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | Sold Out | 0 | 24,000 | ||
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 600 | 24,400 | |||
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 25,400 | |||
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 20,000 | |||
| 2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 20,000 | |||
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 104,900 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,400 | 58,100 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,800 | 48,700 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19,800 | 325,500 |
All bullion figures above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the bullion coin’s weight.
american eagle silver dollar bullion coin.
2008… 20,583,000
2009.. 30,459,000
2010.. 34,764,500
2011.. 40,020,000
2012.. 33,742,500
2013.. 13,304,500 (still going strong. only two and half months offer. if continue this pace of selling. if could break the all time record sales volume. say 60,000,00.)
And to all of the Gold ney-sayers… ;oP