Gold and Silver Prices Settle at Four-Week Lows

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Three Gold Bullion Bars, Dark Background
Gold and silver futures ended at their lowest prices since Aug. 24

Gold and silver maintained losses Thursday that first began in after-hours trading Wednesday when the Federal Reserve signaled a December hike in interest rates. Both metals ended at four-week lows.

Gold for December delivery declined $21.60, or 1.6%, to settle at $1,294.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the lowest since Aug. 24.

"The precious metals markets were already in some trouble when a surprisingly hawkish tone on U.S. monetary policy was sounded by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday afternoon," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Gold and silver prices sank… on ideas U.S. monetary policy will significantly tighten in the coming months."

Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,291.20 to a high of $1,305. They are 2.3% lower so far this week.

Silver for December delivery lost 31.6 cents, or 1.8%, to finish at $17.018 an ounce. The settlement is also the lowest since Aug. 24. Silver futures traded between $16.86 and $17.23. They are down 3.9% on the week to date.

In other precious metals futures prices;

  • October platinum shed $5.50, or 0.6%, to $939.90 an ounce, trading between $931 and $945.40.

  • Palladium for December delivery added $1.40, or 0.2%, to $911.55 an ounce, ranging from $904.15 to $918.40.

London Precious Metals Prices

In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:

  • Gold declined $19.20, or 1.5%, to 1,292.10 an ounce.
  • Silver dropped 43 cents, or 2.5%, to $16.95 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 remained 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 August September YTD
$100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin 0 0 0 0 0 20,000
$50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin 0 2,000 2,000 6,500 6,000 168,000
$25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 0 2,000 0 29,000
$10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 2,000 2,000 2,000 56,000
$5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin 0 15,000 5,000 15,000 20,000 325,000
$50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 1,500 3,000 1,500 76,500
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin 0 50,000 50,000 1,025,000 125,000 15,703,500
2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin 0 0 0 0 0 35,000
2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin 0 0 0 0 0 20,000
2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin 0 0 0 0 0 20,000
2017 Ellis Island 5 Oz Silver Coin* 0 0 0 40,000 0 40,000

 

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