Gold prices settled lower for a second straight session on Thursday but the metal remains poised for a modestly weekly gain.
Gold for December delivery shed $3, or 0.3%, to end at $1,190.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Expectations of a hike in U.S. interest rates will continue to weigh on the gold market," Tommy Capalbo, a broker at Newedge Group in New York, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "We may see some support because of physical demand during the holiday season, but the long-term fundamentals remain very bearish."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,176.20 to a high of $1,196.60. The precious metal also gave back 0.3% on Wednesday. Gold is hanging on to modest 0.5% increase for the week so far.
Silver for December delivery lost 16 cents, or 1%, to $16.14 an ounce, trading between $15.96 and $16.32. Silver prices advanced 0.7% in each of the two prior sessions.
In PGM futures on Thursday:
-
January platinum turned up $6.30, or 0.5%, to $1,205.60 an ounce, ranging from $1,182.50 to $1,213.90.
- Palladium for December delivery fell $2.80, or 0.4%, to $767.15 an ounce, trading between $761.75 and $772.85.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals declined. In contrasting London bullion Fix prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold fell $6, or 0.5%, to $1,190 an ounce,
- Silver dropped 6 cents, or 0.4%, to $16.20 an ounce,
- Platinum turned down $2, or 0.2%, to $1,204 an ounce, and
- Palladium declined $10, or 1.3%, to $770 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in November
United States Mint bullion sales included 1,500 ounces in gold coins and 25,000 ounces in silver coins. Silver sales came entirely from American Silver Eagles, which are sold under a ration system since the Mint’s inventory of them is low. Silver Eagle sales also scooted up late in the day on Wednesday by 40,000.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold on Thursday, last week, this week so far, last month, in November and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | October Sales | November Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | N/A | 400 | N/A* | 16,700 | ||
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 1,000 | 10,000 | 2,500 | 57,500 | 41,500 | 395,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 6,000 | 5,000 | 43,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 10,000 | 110,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 15,000 | 0 | 50,000 | 30,000 | 520,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 500 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 21,000 | 11,000 | 171,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 25,000 | 0 | 1,375,500 | 5,790,000 | 2,635,500 | 40,756,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 300 | 900 | 700 | 23,100 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22,000 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 4,200 | 1,600 | 17,800 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | N/A | 27,000 | 27,000 |
*The U.S. Mint stopped selling bullion Platinum Eagles on Oct. 1. The agency will begin selling 2015-dated issues in early January.
