Precious metals were pounded lower Thursday as the U.S. dollar firmed. Palladium dived nearly 8%, silver marked a more than three-month low, and gold finished below $1,300 an ounce for the first time since the middle of the month.
Gold for June delivery — the new, most active contract — declined $21.60, or 1.6%, to settle at $1,295.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since March 14.
The precious metals bulls are fading fast late this week amid a resurgent U.S. dollar index that is pushing toward its recent multi-month high," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily note. "Gold and silver bulls have company, as much of the raw commodity sector was punished today by the stronger greenback," Wyckoff added.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,293.30 to a high of $1,317.60. They shed 0.4% on Wednesday, fell 0.6% on Tuesday, and advanced 0.8% on Monday — ending at their best level since Feb. 26.
Silver for May delivery tumbled 32.5 cents, or 2.1%, to settle at $14.973 an ounce. The close was the lowest since Dec. 24.
Silver futures traded between $14.95 and $15.32. They fell 0.9% on Wednesday, declined 0.9% on Tuesday, and rose 1% on Monday — marking their best close since Feb. 28.
In other precious metals prices Thursday:
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July platinum lost $18.40, or 2.1%, to $843.80 an ounce, ranging from $838.70 to $870.70.
- Palladium for June delivery sank $111.80, or 7.9%, to $1,309.70 an ounce, trading between $1,303.20 and $1,424.80. They dropped 6.2% on Wednesday. The metal is poised for a more than 13.5% loss on the week. Last week Wednesday, March 20, palladium scored a record settlement of $1,560.40 an ounce.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM
- Gold declined $14.55, or 1.1%, to $1,295.15 an ounce.
- Silver dropped 20.5 cents, or 1.3%, to $15.195 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
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 | January | February | March | 2019 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 500 | 27,100 | 2,400 | 3,500 | 33,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 500 | 44,500 | 11,000 | 8,000 | 63,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 15,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 17,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 24,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 90,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 110,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 0 | 23,500 | 6,000 | 5,500 | 35,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,017,500 | 2,157,500 | 850,000 | 7,025,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 80,000 | 80,000 | |
