Gold, Silver Rise Modestly

Precious metals split Thursday with gold and silver higher and platinum and palladium lower

Gold futures ended higher for the fourth time in five sessions Thursday on rising demand for safe-havens.

Gold for June delivery gained $4.80, or 0.4% to settle at $1,253.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"The key is if we can get gold to close higher this week and get over $1,264 — that’s my breakout number — if it can do that, then we could go to $1,280 to $1,300," MarketWatch quoted Ira Epstein, managing director at Linn Group

Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,251.30 to a high of $1,260.90. They fell 0.8% on Wednesday, advanced 0.4% on Tuesday — ending at their highest level since Feb 27, and gained 0.2% on Monday.

Meanwhile, silver for May delivery rose 5.9 cents, or 0.3%, to end at $18.246 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $18.16 and $18.36. They lost 0.7% on Wednesday, edged up 0.6% on Wednesday — logging their best settlement since March 1, and slipped 0.2% on Monday.

In other precious metals:

• July platinum dipped 70 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $958.90 an ounce, ranging from $953.80 to $966.

• Palladium for June delivery fell $3.65, or 0.5%, to $804.10 an ounce, trading between $796 and $812.35.

London Precious Metals Prices

In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:

• Gold added $6.70, or 0.5%, to $1,252.50 an ounce.
• Silver declined 4 cents, or 0.2% to $18.22 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 Thursday. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.