Gold closed lower Thursday, and then added to losses in electronic trade as prices dropped to below $1,200 an ounce.
In its settlement on the trading floor, gold for August delivery declined $18.20, or 1.5%, to $1,211.60 an ounce on the Comex in New York. After-hours trading had the precious metal down at $1,196.10 an ounce before rebounding toward the $1,200 mark. Prices at either level had not been seen since August 2010.
"When the market gets into a trend, people just want to follow it, and now we’re in a severe downtrend, so the psychology has become terrible," Donald Selkin, who helps manage $3 billion of assets as chief market strategist at National Securities Corp., said in a telephone interview relayed on Bloomberg News. "If any of the big holders that are still in the ETF start getting forced to sell, it could be big, a wild card."
Silver tracked gold, though off modestly at its close. Silver for September delivery — now the new most-active contract — lost 6 cents, or 0.3%, to $18.55 an ounce. The precious metal later traded toward $18.33 an ounce but then returned near its settlement.
Bucking the downward trends, PGM’s registered robust gains:
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October platinum gained $21.70, or 1.7%, to $1,329.10 an ounce, trading between $1,304.20 and $1,332.70.
- September palladium soared $17.45, or 2.8%, to $650.70 an ounce, ranging from $629.40 and $657.70.
London Fix Precious Metals
London precious metals fixings ended lower. In contrasting the Wednesday PM to Thursday PM London Fix prices:
- Gold shed $3.50, or 03%, to $1,232.75 an ounce,
- Silver dipped 6 cents, or 0.3%, to $18.61 an ounce,
- Platinum declined $11, or 0.8%, to $1,318 an ounce, and
- Palladium fell $9, or 1.4%, to $643 an ounce
US Bullion Coin Sales in June
After a strong start earlier this week, sales totals for United States Mint bullion coins were unchanged for a second day. The following are daily, June and year-to-date bullion coin totals as provided by the United States Mint.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | June Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 19,000 | 4,500 | 41,000 | 536,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 6,000 | 84,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 | 405,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 2,500 | 12,500 | 157,000 |
| White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,200 | 27,000 |
| Perry’s Victory 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 300 | 0 | 14,200 | 14,200 |
| Great Basin 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 9,900 | 9,900 | 9,900 |
| American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 800,000 | 847,000 | 3,275,000 | 25,043,500 |
Figures above are in the number of coins sold, not in ounces.
