Precious metals futures ended mixed again on Thursday. Gold edged higher for a second day in a row while silver stepped up from a more than six-month low.
Gold for August delivery climbed $1.60, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,223.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close is the highest since Friday.
"A slightly downbeat U.S. ADP jobs number aided the precious metals markets bulls just a bit today," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "The key ‘outside markets’ were also in a bullish daily posture for the metals, as the U.S. dollar index was solidly lower and crude oil prices were higher."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,221.80 to a high of 1,229.50. They gained 0.2% in the previous session and declined 1.9% on Monday, closing at their lowest point since May 10.
Silver for September delivery settled up 8.7 cents, or 0.6%, to $15.983 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $15.91 to $16.08. They dropped 1.2% on Wednesday, marking their weakest settlement since Dec. 23, and tumbled 3.2% in starting the week on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices:
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October platinum rose $1.50, or 0.2%, to $910.30 an ounce, ranging from $906 to $913.50.
- Palladium for September declined $2.20, or 0.3%, to $832.20 an ounce, trading between $827.50 and $843.25.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $4.60, or 0.4%, to $1,224.90 an ounce.
- Silver rose 6 cents, or 0.4%, to $16.01 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
United States 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 | Week / July | June | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,500 | 4,000 | 142,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 20,000 | 275,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 67,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 280,000 | 320,000 | 986,000 | 12,553,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,800 | 35,000 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
