Gold futures ended lower in their start to the new trading month on Thursday. The precious metal logged its third straight session loss, and ended at its lowest price this year.
Gold for April delivery declined $12.70, or 1%, to settle at $1,305.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close was the lowest since Dec. 28.
"We’re down on the stronger dollar today, and we’re still hearing interest rate expectations," Reuters quoted Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at EverBank.
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,303.60 to a high of $1,321.40. They dipped less than 0.1% on Wednesday, posting a 1.9% monthly loss.
Silver for May delivery fell 13.1 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $16.276 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $16.18 to $16.44. In the previous session, they shed almost 0.2% and finished the month of February with a 4.8% loss.
In other precious metals futures:
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April platinum dropped $30.30, or 3.1%, to $957.80 an ounce, trading between $956.50 and $987.30.
- Palladium for June delivery declined $64.40, or 6.2%, to $973.20 an ounce, ranging from $969.90 to $1,038.05.
"Platinum and palladium prices declined as a German court reportedly ruled this week that cities have the right to ban diesel motors to improve air quality," according to MarketWatch. "Both metals are used in the automotive industry."
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $10.10, or 0.8%, to $1,307.75 an ounce.
- Silver shed 12.5 cents, or 0.8%, to $16.315 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday / March | Last Week | This Week | February | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 5,000 | 41,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 5,000 | 85,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 500 | 2,500 | 26,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 70,000 | 237,500 | 942,500 | 4,177,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | N/A | 20,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
