Gold futures notched their tenth loss in eleven sessions on Thursday, and closed at a fresh, more than 14-week low.
Gold for August delivery shed $2.10, or 0.2%, to close at $1,212.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Feb. 22 when the yellow metal ended at $1,210.10 an ounce.
"Open interest has been steadily declining and that’s because the funds have been fleeing ahead of the Fed rate hike," Bloomberg News quoted George Gero, a managing director at RBC Wealth Management in New York. "It’s no longer a question of if, but it’s a question of when for the rate hike.
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,213 to a high of $1,220. They slipped by $2.80 on Wednesday but climbed 80 cents on Tuesday — their first gain in nine sessions.
Sister metal silver bounced from an almost 2-month low. Silver for July delivery gained 9.8 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $16.025 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $15.925 to $16.065. In the previous session, they closed at their lowest level since April 8.
In rounding out precious metals trading:
-
July platinum dropped $11.80, or 1.2%, to $960.10 an ounce, trading between $958.50 and $978.90.
- Palladium for September delivery fell $12.30, or 2.3%, to $534.45 an ounce, ranging from $532.65 to $549.65.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold fell $2.10, or 0.2%, to $1,212.40 an ounce.
- Silver rose 3 cents, or 0.2%, to $15.99 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
U.S. Mint bullion sales moved up by 12,500 ounces in gold coins and by 71,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
The U.S. Mint is limiting this week’s sales of American Silver Eagle to 1,166,500 coins. Bullion distributors ordered 55.8% of them through Thursday. 2016 American Silver Eagles are running at a record pace with 23,413,000 sold, representing a 32.5% increase over those sold through same time in record-breaking year 2015.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday / June Sales | Last Week | This Week | Mar Sales | Apr Sales | May Sale | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 9,500 | 18,500 | 17,000 | 29,000 | 93,500 | 64,500 | 353,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 6,000 | 7,000 | 43,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 14,000 | 10,000 | 76,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 75,000 | 55,000 | 60,000 | 435,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 3,000 | 3,000 | 5,500 | 7,000 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 101,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 71,000 | 891,000 | 650,500 | 4,106,000 | 4,072,000 | 4,498,500 | 23,484,000 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64,000 | 11,000 | 75,000 |
