Gold futures extended their winning streak to three straight sessions Thursday, and closed at a more than 5-week high as the U.S. dollar fell to its lowest level since mid-December.
Gold for February delivery tacked on $16, or 1.4%, to end at $1,181.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since Nov. 29.
"Gold has moved into recovery mode, a move which coincides with the dollar moving into correction. I had been skeptical of the late December rally, however, each day this week the gold price has been pulling higher and the recovery is gathering pace," MarketWatch quoted Richard Perry, market analyst at Hantec Markets, in a note.
"I do though remain cautious with chasing gold too far higher as bear market rallies have been continually sold into over the past few months," he added.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,163.60 to a high of $1,185.90. They advanced 0.3% on Wednesday and gained 0.9% in their start Tuesday to the holiday-shortened trading week.
Rising for the sixth time in seven sessions, silver for March delivery added 8.5 cents, or 0.5%, to $16.637 an ounce. The settlement is the highest since Dec. 14. Silver futures traded between $16.45 and $16.76. They are 4.1% higher so far this week.
In other precious metals dealings:
-
April platinum surged $28.80, or 3%, to $976 an ounce, ranging from $944.20 to $980.
- Palladium for March delivery dipped 60 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $738.20 an ounce, trading between $727.55 and $750. The precious metal is 8% higher so far this week.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold gained $12.45, or 1.1%, to $1,176.70 an ounce.
- Silver added 17 cents, or 1%, to $16.59 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 2017
U.S. Mint bullion sales remained unchanged. They will take off next Monday, Jan. 9, when new 2017-dated coins become available. Most of the agency’s 2016-dated issues sold out in early December.
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 / This Week | Last Week | Dec Sales | 2016 Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins* | – | 23,000 | 817,500 | 0 | |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 74,000 | 0 | |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins* | – | 2,000 | 152,000 | 0 | |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins* | – | 40,000 | 925,000 | 0 | |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 12,500 | 219,500 | 0 | |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 240,000 | 37,701,500 | 0 | |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 105,000 | 0 | ||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 75,000 | 0 | ||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 100 | 38,100 | 0 | |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 800 | 40,000 | 0 | |
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 27,800 | 0 | |
Third week in a row with no sales of the two different 5 oz silver bullion coins still available to the Mint’s 13 worldwide bullion coin Authorized Purchasers (& over 2 weeks without any sales of the two different gold bullion coins still available for sale). Strange!
-NumisDudeTX
I have been stacking silver like crazy and have been shying away from the RCM with exception to silver bullion with higher upswing premium values and the American mint products. So many other mints to choose from such as 10 ounce silver bars fro the Sunshine mint. So much competition out there right now and I do shop around.
Mouse