Precious metals futures advanced Thursday. Gold and silver padded gains that started Wednesday afternoon after the latest Fed minutes signaled expectations of a rate increase in June.
Gold for June delivery added $3.30, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,256.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold appears to be caught in a range in which the physical market — demand from India and China — is providing strong support around $1,200/oz, but safe-haven flows have been insufficient to breach the $1,300/oz threshold," Reuters quoted Standard Chartered Precious Metals Analyst Suki Cooper.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,253.50 to a high of $1,259.40. They dipped 0.2% on Wednesday, slipped 0.5% on Tuesday and climbed 0.6% on Monday, closing at their highest price since April 28.
Elsewhere, silver for July delivery gained 7.6 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $17.193 an ounce. The settlement is the highest since April 28. Silver futures traded between $17.14 and $17.26. They shed 0.1% on Wednesday, declined 0.3% on Tuesday and gained 2.4% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures:
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July platinum rose $5.60, or 0.6%, to $952.90 an ounce, ranging from $947.60 to $958.20.
- Palladium for June delivery tacked on $7.35, or 1%, to $769 an ounce, trading between $760 and $769.80.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $4.40, or 0.4%, to $1,256.95 an ounce.
- Silver added 12 cents, or 0.7%, to $17.15 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion products registered gains of 1,000 ounces in gold coins and 160,000 ounces in silver coins. 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.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Last Week | This Week | April Sales | May Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 3,000 | 3,500 | 3,500 | 9,500 | 136,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 48,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 | 240,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 3,500 | 4,500 | 63,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 150,000 | 505,000 | 595,000 | 835,000 | 2,155,000 | 10,947,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 2,000 | 300 | 4,600 | 900 | 5,500 | 26,100 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17,600 | 2,400 | 20,000 |
