Precious metals futures divided Thursday with gold and silver lower and platinum and palladium higher. Silver’s decline was its first in five sessions and after claiming a more than two-year high on Wednesday. Gold’s loss was its second in a row after peaking to a more than six-year high on Tuesday.
Gold for December delivery fell $12.20, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,536.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"There is more optimism on the [U.S.-China] trade talks and that seems to have some people lightening up on gold," Reuters quoted Michael Matousek, head trader at U.S. Global Investors. "Gold has been up for the past few months, and it’s not like it is breaking down. You still want to buy pull-backs on gold."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,528.60 to a high of $1,559.80. They slipped 0.2% on Wednesday, they rose 1% on Tuesday — marking their highest settlement since April 11, 2013, and they edged 0.03% lower on Monday.
Silver for December delivery lost 13.3 cents, or 0.7%, to close at $18.323 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from a low of $18.15 to a high of $18.76. They gained 0.9% on Wednesday — registering their best finish since April 17, 2017, they rallied 2.9% on Tuesday, and they rose 1.3% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices on Thursday:
-
October platinum added $11.10, or 1.2%, to $920 an ounce, trading between $897.70 and $939.
- Palladium for December delivery climbed $9, or 0.6%, to $1,471.50 an ounce, ranging from $1,462 to $1,485.40.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $3.05, or 0.2%, to $1,540.20 an ounce.
- Silver rose 11.5 cents, or 0.6%, to $18.48 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. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Last Week | This Week | July | August | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 500 | 2,500 | 5,500 | 86,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 1,000 | 23,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 28,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 0 | 160,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 500 | 500 | 1,500 | 49,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 647,000 | 138,000 | 1,240,000 | 1,007,000 | 12,269,000 |
| War in the Pacific 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 4,500 | 0 | 57,000 | 12,500 | 69,500 |
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 80,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | ||||
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 40,000 | ||||
