Precious metals futures closed mostly lower Thursday. Gold was the exception, rising 0.5% and closing at a two-week high.
Gold for April delivery added $5.90 to settle at $1,327.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the strongest since March 7 when gold ended 20 cents higher.
"If you factor in the significant near-term geopolitical concerns and the uncertain equity market fallout from an escalation of a trade war with China, gold has to be a mainstay component in any investment portfolio," Reuters quoted Stephen Innes, APAC trading head at OANDA.
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,324.60 to a high of $1,335. They rose 0.7% on Wednesday, lost 0.4% on Tuesday — ending at their lowest price since March 1, and gained 0.4% on Monday.
Silver for May delivery shed 3.2 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $16.387 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $16.33 to $16.61. They gained 1.5% on Wednesday, declined 0.9% on Tuesday and edged up 0.3% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices:
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April platinum dipped $1.50, or 0.2%, to $949.10 an ounce, trading between $945.80 and $963.80.
- Palladium for June delivery lost $4.65, or 0.5%, to $981.80 an ounce, ranging from $968 to $991.35.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold rose $10.35, or 0.8%, to $1,321.35 an ounce.
- Silver declined a half penny, or less than 0.1%, to $16.245 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
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 3:21 p.m. ET. 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 | Last Week | This Week | February | March | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 2,500 | 43,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 95,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,500 | 1,000 | 27,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 270,000 | 195,000 | 942,500 | 630,000 | 4,807,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
