Gold futures posted a second day of losses Thursday, while silver futures extended their streak of declines to three days in a row.
Gold for December delivery declined $4, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,274.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"We’re still in a $1,200-$1,300 range and there doesn’t seem enough of anything material to worry investors sufficiently to break us through that upper level," Reuters quoted ICBC Standard Bank analyst Tom Kendall. "On the downside it’s been very similar, on recent occasions where (gold has) got close to $1,200 it’s been well supported through a combination of physical demand and defensive buying from macro investors."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,262.90 to a high of $1,275.90. They dipped less than 0.1% on Wednesday, climbed 0.5% on Tuesday — logging their highest close since June 8, and edged down 0.1% on Monday.
Silver for September delivery lost 10.3 cents, or 0.6%, to finish at $16.63 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $16.42 and $16.68. They fell 0.2% on Wednesday, slipped 0.1% on Tuesday and advanced 0.6% on Monday — ending at their best price since June 14.
In rounding out precious metals dealings:
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October platinum tacked on $10.80, or 1.1%, to $964.60 an ounce, ranging from $946.60 and $968.
- Palladium for September delivery declined $11.20, or 1.3%, to $881 an ounce, trading between $879.20 and $894.95.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold dipped $1.50, or 0.1%, to 1,268.10 an ounce.
- Silver fell 20 cents, or 1.2%, to $16.47 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 Thursday. 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 / Aug | 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 | 500 | 1,000 | 4,000 | 12,500 | 154,500 |
| $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 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 30,000 | 290,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 1,500 | 2,000 | 5,000 | 71,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 205,000 | 50,000 | 986,000 | 2,270,000 | 14,503,500 |
| 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 |
