Precious metals futures ended lower Thursday. Silver’s loss was its first in five sessions with prices slipping slightly from a near three-month high while gold retreated from a one-week high.
Gold for June delivery shed $4.70, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,348.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"There was a bit of upward momentum, but you are still in the $1,300-$1,365 range. It’s more of a technical trade at the moment — it tries the upside again and if that doesn’t succeed then it falls back," Reuters quoted Dan Denbow, USAA senior portfolio manager. "Rates are up and dollar-supportive. The Fed still seems to be on the path for tightening. The Fed and cryptocurrencies, a bit, have been hampering (gold)."
Gold futures traded between $1,343.20 and $1,357.70. They rose 0.3% on Wednesday to close at their best level since April 11, dipped less than 0.1% on Tuesday, and climbed 0.2% on Monday.
After advancing in nine of the last ten sessions, silver for May delivery dipped less than a penny, or 0.05%, to finish at $17.239 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $17.09 to $17.36. They surged 2.8% on Wednesday — posting their best settlement since Jan. 26, rose 0.7% on Tuesday, and edged up 0.1% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices:
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July platinum declined $5.70, or 0.6%, to $940.10 an ounce, trading between $935.40 and $957.40.
- Palladium for June delivery fell $8.50, or 0.8%, to $1,026.45 an ounce, ranging from $1,013.35 to $1,047.75.
London Precious Metals Prices
LBMA bullion prices are available on the LBMA 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 | Last Week | This Week | March | April | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 500 | 2,500 | 2,500 | 46,000 |
| $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 | 10,000 | 0 | 95,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 29,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 125,000 | 275,000 | 915,000 | 610,000 | 5,702,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | N/A | 30,000 | N/A | 30,000 | 30,000 |
