Gold and silver futures posted heavy losses Thursday, padding declines that began Wednesday afternoon when the Fed raised interest rates. Gold marked a three-week low while silver logged a five-week low.
Gold for August delivery lost $21.30, or 1.7%, to settle at $1,254.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the weakest since May 24.
"If you just look at economics, there’s a chance of more downside. The Fed was talking about another potential rate hike later this year, which is negative for gold," Reuters quoted Natixis metals analyst Bernard Dahdah. "But there’s still enough for people to worry about in geopolitics at different levels."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,252.70 to a high of $1,268.50. They are 1.3% lower so far this week.
Meanwhile, silver for July delivery tumbled 42 cents, or 2.5%, to settle at $16.716 an ounce. The close is the lowest since May 12. Silver futures traded between $16.62 and $17.07. They are 2.9% lower on the week to date.
In other precious metals futures on Thursday:
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July platinum declined $30.60, or 3.2%, to $921.30 an ounce, ranging from $917.40 to $941.80.
- Palladium for September delivery added $4.15, or 0.5%, to $857.95 an ounce, trading between $845.10 and $860.10.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $20.95, or 1.6%, to $1,254.55 an ounce.
- Silver gained 17 cents, or 1%, to $17.13 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 sales were unchanged. 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 | May | June | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 10,000 | 1,000 | 138,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 48,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 30,000 | 5,000 | 245,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 0 | 5,000 | 500 | 64,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 229,000 | 205,000 | 2,455,000 | 434,000 | 11,681,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 500 | 5,600 | 2,500 | 28,700 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,400 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 17,200 | 2,800 | N/A/ | 20,000 | 20,000 |
