Gold and silver futures settled higher on Thursday and for the first time in a week as the U.S. dollar declined in response to a dovish FOMC statement.
Gold for April delivery jumped $35.20, or 2.9%, to close at $1,265 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since last Thursday when gold marked its best close in 13 months. Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,255.20 to a high of $1,271.90.
"Gold prices Thursday extended Wednesday afternoon’s sharp gains, in the wake of a dovish FOMC statement," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "A sharp drop in the U.S. dollar index to a five-month low and crude oil prices pushing above $40.00 a barrel Thursday also worked in favor of the precious metals market bulls."
Silver for May delivery rallied 81.4 cents, or 5.4%, to settle at $16.033 an ounce. The close was the highest since Oct. 28 when silver finished at $16.29 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $15.56 and $16.08.
In PGM futures on Thursday:
-
April platinum added $30.40, or 3.2%, to $989.10 an ounce, ranging from $975.10 to $996.90.
- Palladium for June delivery rose $20.30, or 3.5%, to $597.80 an ounce, trading between $579 and $599.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $38, or 3.1%, to $1,266.50 an ounce.
- Silver added 44 cents, or 2.9%, to $15.73 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2016
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Thursday. The U.S. Mint this week limited its Silver Eagle sales to 1 million coins. Those ran out on Wednesday and no more will be available until next Monday. Their cumulative 2016 sales of 13 million coins is 22.8% higher than through the same time in record year 2015.
Below is a sales breakdown of United States Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Jan Sales | Feb Sales | Mar Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 11,500 | 5,000 | 89,000 | 67,500 | 17,500 | 174,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 23,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 36,000 | 12,000 | 4,000 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 145,000 | 100,000 | 30,000 | 275,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 34,000 | 19,000 | 3,000 | 56,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 5,954,500 | 4,782,000 | 2,263,500 | 13,000,000 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 105,000 | 0 | 105,000 |
Happy St. Patrick’s Day gold bugs!
The luck of the Irish is with you today with your pot of gold worth $38 per ounce more than yesterday!
-NumisDudeTX