Gold and silver futures logged a second day of gains Thursday, paring some of their sharp losses from earlier in the week.
Gold for April delivery tacked on $14.90, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,226.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Some early profit-taking was overcome by bargain hunters buying the dip and by fresh chart-based buying interest — both of which coincided with the U.S. stock indexes coming under selling pressure," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report.
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,201.30 to a high of $1,240.60. They edged up 0.3% in the previous session.
Silver for March delivery added 5.5 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $15.432 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $15.22 to $15.57. On Wednesday, they rose 0.3%.
In other precious metals Thursday:
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April platinum declined $4.10, or 0.4%, to $945.60 an ounce, trading between $936 and 949.60.
- Palladium for March delivery fell $11.05, or 2.1%, to $504.85 an ounce, ranging from $496.35 to $518.20.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices were unchanged to barely moved. In comparing their levels from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold edged up a dime to $1,210.10 an ounce.
- Silver remained at $15.25 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2016
United States Mint gold sales posted increases of 2,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 4,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins.
Silver coin sales were muted. Earlier in the week, U.S. Mint distributors ordered 926,500 ounces in American Silver Eagles. The Mint allocated 1 million ounces for this week.
Below is a sales breakdown of United States Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Jan Sales | Feb Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,500 | 25,500 | 17,500 | 89,000 | 52,500 | 141,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 23,000 | 5,000 | 28,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 6,000 | 36,000 | 8,000 | 44,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 10,000 | 15,000 | 20,000 | 145,000 | 50,000 | 195,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 4,500 | 4,000 | 6,500 | 34,000 | 12,500 | 46,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,000,000 | 926,500 | 5,954,500 | 2,972,000 | 8,926,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | N/A | 75,000 | 75,000 |
