Gold dropped for a fourth session in a row and to a four-month low Thursday, poised to end down by nearly 3% for the week and month.
Gold for August delivery, the now most active contract, fell $2.60, or 0.2%, to $1,257.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price was the lowest since gold ended at $1,256.90 an ounce on Feb. 5.
"Even with August gold prices now seemingly stabilizing in the mid-$1,250 range, buying it right now would be quite an aggressive move for the typical speculator, nearly akin to attempting to catch a falling knife without cutting your hand," MarketWatch quoted Erik Gebhard, co-founder of Altavest Worldwide Trading. "Yes, it’s possible, but we see the odds of successfully doing so as slim."
"The large price gap above the market, measured from the May 27th low near $1,291.50 and the May 28th high of $1,267.50, will however likely be filled in, it’s just a matter of when," he said. "We’d give the market more time to consolidate and build some sort of base of support, and then attempt to lightly enter into fresh bullish positions."
Gold prices traded from a low of $1,251.40 to a high of $1,261.50.
Silver prices also ended down for a fourth straight session. Silver for July delivery shed 5 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $19.01 an ounce. The precious metal ranged from $18.78 to $19.10.
PGM futures turned lower after advancing in the previous session. In the breakdowns on Thursday:
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July platinum fell $2.60, or 0.2%, to $1,460.10 an ounce, trading between $1,446.60 and $1,463.70.
- Palladium for September delivery, the now most active contract, fell $6.25, or 0.7%, to $834.50 an ounce. Prices ranged from $827.70 to $840.55.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals fixings declined as well. In contrasting London bullion fix prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold lost $8.50, or 0.7%, to $1,255 an ounce,
- Silver fell 28 cents, or 1.4%, to $18.85 an ounce,
- Platinum turned down $8, or 0.5%, to $1,447 an ounce, and
- Palladium dropped $8, or 1%, to $830 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales
Sales of U.S. Mint bullion coins were unchanged as of 2:38 p.m. ET. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold last week, this week so far, last month, the month so far, and the year-to-date.
American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thursday Sales | Sales Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | April Sales | May Sales | YTD Sales | |
$100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 300 | 0 | 1,200 | 1,000 | 12,200 |
$50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 11,000 | 6,000 | 26,000 | 28,500 | 155,000 |
$25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 3,000 | 25,000 |
$10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 6,000 | 68,000 |
$5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 55,000 | 30,000 | 320,000 |
$50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 2,500 | 17,500 | 11,500 | 94,500 |
$1 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 300,000 | 301,500 | 3,569,000 | 3,863,500 | 21,311,500 |
Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 0 | 10,600 | 4,000 | 27,000 |
Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 200 | 1,700 | N/A | 19,100 | 19,100 |