Gold, silver and platinum futures were little changed Thursday but palladium sank more than 2% after having reached an all-time record just two days earlier.
Gold for December delivery added $1.30, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,232.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold is pausing for a breath and is probably consolidating for the next possible move higher. Some speculative investors would be in a position to take profit," Reuters quoted Mitsubishi analyst Jonathan Butler.
"It is running into some resistance around $1,240. The next significant level is the $1,250 psychological barrier," he added.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,230.70 to a high of $1,242. They slipped 0.5% on Wednesday, gained 1% on Tuesday — ending at their best price since July 16, and declined 0.3% on Monday.
Silver for December shed 4.6 cents, or 0.3%, to end at $14.63 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.61 and $14.80. They declined 0.8% on Wednesday, rose 1.4% on Tuesday — marking their highest settlement since Aug. 27, and shed 0.4% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices Thursday:
-
January platinum edged up 40 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $831.90 an ounce, ranging from $825.90 to $836.70.
- Palladium for December delivery sank $24.70, or 2.2%, to $1,087.60 an ounce, trading between between $1,086 and $1,112.40 On Tuesday, they ended at $1,122.80 an ounce to log an all-time record.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold rose 25 cents, or less than 0.1%, to 1,230.80 an ounce.
- Silver dipped a half cent, or less than 0.1%, to $14.74 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Last Week | This Week | September | October | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 4,000 | 14,500 | 17,000 | 168,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 26,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 58,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 | 10,000 | 210,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 0 | 11,000 | 5,000 | 113,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 2,897,500 | 1,330,000 | 13,465,000 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Cumberland Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,500 | 0 | 52,500 |
