Gold futures closed higher Thursday for the first time in three days while silver futures snapped a four-session losing streak.
Gold for December delivery added $2.30, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,326 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The gold and dollar markets are currently without very strong direction. The mixed views from U.S. Fed officials have weakened their credibility and the market has stopped buying (on) their comments," Reuters quoted Jiang Shu, chief analyst at Shandong Gold Group.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,318.60 to a high of $1,329.40. On Wednesday, they settled at their lowest price since Sept. 20.
Elsewhere, silver for December delivery rose 6.7 cents, or 0.4%, to close at $19.188 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $19.05 and $19.46. In the previous session, they ended at their weakest point since Sept. 16.
Rounding out metals trading:
-
January platinum gained $10.20, or 1%, to $1,037.20 an ounce, ranging from $1,025.40 to $1,045.50.
- Palladium for December delivery rose $5.10, or 0.7%, to $719.50 an ounce, trading between $710 and $723.50.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $4.40, or 0.3%, to $1,318.10 an ounce.
- Silver fell 11 cents, or 0.6%, to $19.01 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
U.S. Mint bullion products logged gains of 9,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 75,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Aug Sales | Sept Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 6,500 | 17,000 | 17,500 | 50,000 | 72,500 | 558,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 0 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 5,000 | 56,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 4,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 14,000 | 114,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 10,000 | 15,000 | 15,000 | 60,000 | 80,000 | 695,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 5,500 | 2,000 | 9,000 | 15,000 | 146,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 75,000 | 255,000 | 370,000 | 1,280,000 | 1,675,000 | 30,575,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 200 | 0 | 1,900 | 200 | 36,300 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | -500 | 27,500 | 2,000 | 29,500 |
