Precious metals futures posted mostly modest declines Thursday. Gold, down for a third straight day, neared a more than 10.5-month low while silver, off for a second day in a row, registered its lowest price in 8.5 months.
Gold for February delivery gave up $2.50, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,130.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Despite the current retreat in the dollar, traders have already positioned themselves for a neutral to lower end of the year for gold, with the next support level in the $1,123 area, as the focus remains on the hawkish message of the Fed, which signaled three rate increases in 2017," Reuters quoted ActivTrades chief analyst Carlo Alberto de Casa.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,128.60 to a high of $1,135.50. They slipped less than 0.1% on Wednesday, shed 0.8% on Tuesday, and climbed 0.5% on Monday. A week ago, prices settled at $1,129.80 an ounce to mark their lowest close since Feb. 2. Gold is poised for a seventh weekly loss, although prices are still 6.7% higher year to date.
Silver for March delivery fell 10.8 cents, or 0.7%, to finish at $15.871 an ounce. The settlement is the weakest since April 8 when the precious metal ended at $15.384 an ounce.
Silver futures traded between $15.83 and $16.09. They dropped 0.9% on Wednesday, rose 0.2% on Tuesday, and fell 0.8% on Monday.
In other precious metals dealings:
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January platinum declined $7, or 0.8%, to $907.40 an ounce, ranging from $906.70 to $921.
- Palladium for March delivery fell $3.30, or 0.5%, to $656.60 an ounce, trading between $652.15 and $663.45.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold lost $2.30, or 0.2%, to $1,131.35 an ounce.
- Silver fell 26 cents, or 1.6%, to $15.77 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 were unchanged as of 3:12 p.m. ET. The Mint’s most popular 2016-dated bullion coins have sold out. New 2017-dated issues will go on sale Jan. 9.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of 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 | Nov Sales | Dec Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins* | – | 20,000 | ||||
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins* | – | 129,000 | 23,000 | 817,500 | ||
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 7,000 | 3,000 | 74,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins* | – | 18,000 | 2,000 | 152,000 | ||
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins* | – | 105,000 | 40,000 | 925,000 | ||
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,500 | 2,500 | 29,500 | 12,500 | 219,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 3,061,000 | 240,000 | 37,701,500 | ||
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 105,000 | ||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 75,000 | ||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 100 | 38,100 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 6,600 | 800 | 40,000 | ||
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27,800 | 0 | 27,800 |
