Precious metals futures advanced Thursday. Gold was the strongest performer within the group, rising 0.8%, extending its winning streak to seven straight sessions, and closing at an almost 17-month high.
Gold for August delivery tacked on $10.10 to settle at $1,298.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close was the highest since Jan. 22, 2015 when the yellow metal ended at $1,300.70 an ounce. Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,285.10 to a high of $1,318.90 — a level not seen since the summer of 2014.
"Gold is being supported by the perceived dovish FOMC statement on Wednesday and on safe-haven demand amid wobbly world stock markets and falling world government bond yields," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily note.
Elsewhere, silver for July delivery added 10.4 cents, or 0.6%, to close at $17.607 an ounce. The settlement was the best since May 2 when prices ended at $17.682 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.40 and $17.88.
Rounding out metals trading:
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July platinum added $3.50, or 0.4%, to $978.30 an ounce, ranging from $969.80 to $991.
- Palladium for September delivery settled up $2.40, or 0.5%, to $534.95 an ounce, trading between $527.45 and $5442.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold gained $27.45, or 2.1%, to $1,310.75 an ounce.
- Silver added 30 cents, or 1.7%, to $17.71 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
United States Mint bullion sales advanced for the first time this week. Gains included gold coins by 17,500 ounces and silver coins by 236,000 ounces.
For gold coins, the single-day jump was one of the highest this year. But then again, their sales had been muted since Friday.
The U.S. Mint is limiting this week’s sales of American Silver Eagle to 1,672,500 coins. Bullion distributors ordered just 13.8% of them through Thursday. 2016 American Silver Eagles are still running at a record pace with sales of 24,557,500 coins, representing a 26.6% increase over those sold through same time in record-breaking year 2015.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday / This Week | Last Week | Apr Sales | May Sale | June Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 13,000 | 12,500 | 93,500 | 64,500 | 35,000 | 378,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 7,000 | 0 | 43,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 2,000 | 14,000 | 10,000 | 4,000 | 80,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 10,000 | 20,000 | 55,000 | 60,000 | 30,000 | 465,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 3,000 | 3,000 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 9,000 | 107,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 230,000 | 843,500 | 4,072,000 | 4,498,500 | 1,144,500 | 24,557,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 64,000 | 11,000 | 0 | 75,000 |
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 1,200 | 33,000 | 64,000 | 11,000 | 34,200 | 34,200 |
