Precious metals futures closed higher Thursday, maintaining gains that started Wednesday afternoon when the Fed decided to keep interest rates unchanged. Gold logged its best finish in six weeks, while silver posted a fresh four-week high.
Gold for August delivery tacked on $10.60, or 0.9%, to settle at $1,260 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since June 14.
"We think that gold has turned something of a corner and may now be in a position to retest its recent highs," Reuters quoted INTLFCStone analyst Edward Meir. "With the Fed now likely on hold at least till the end of the year and U.S. bond yields falling, there are some forming tailwinds that should propel prices higher over the short term."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,253.90 to a high of $1,265. They registered matching declines of 0.2% on Wednesday and Tuesday and dipped 0.05% on Monday.
Silver for September delivery advanced 11.4 cents, or 0.7%, to finish at $16.573 an ounce. The close is the strongest since June 30. Silver futures traded between $16.54 and $16.81. They declined 0.5% on Wednesday, gained 0.6% on Tuesday, and slipped 0.1% in starting the week on Monday.
In other precious metals futures:
-
October platinum added $3.70, or 0.4%, to $926.40 an ounce, ranging from $926.40 to $939.50.
- Closing higher for a fourth day in a row, palladium for September delivery gained $14, or 1.6%, to $876.90 an ounce. Prices traded between $865.75 and $885.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold rose $13, or 1%, to 1,261.10 an ounce.
- Silver jumped 42 cents, or 2.6%, to $16.79 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 3:12 p.m. ET. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Last Week | This Week | June | July | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 500 | 4,000 | 12,500 | 153,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 30,000 | 290,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 500 | 2,000 | 3,500 | 69,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 725,000 | 205,000 | 986,000 | 2,220,000 | 14,453,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,800 | 0 | 35,000 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
