Precious metals futures ended mostly higher Thursday. Silver advanced for a second day in a row while gold posted its first gain in four sessions.
Gold for June delivery rose $7.10, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,312.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold gained "on some bargain hunting in the cash market and on short covering in the futures market," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "A slightly weaker U.S. dollar index and modestly lower U.S. stock indexes today are also slightly supporting the precious metals markets."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,305.20 to a high of $1,319. They slipped less than 0.1% on Wednesday — marking their weakest settlement since March 1, dropped 0.9% on Tuesday and dipped 0.3% on Monday.
Silver for July delivery settled up 7.2 cents, or 0.4%, to $16.447 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $16.38 and $16.62. They rose 1.5% on Wednesday, declined 1.7% on Tuesday and fell 0.6% on Monday.
In rounding out precious metals futures prices:
-
July platinum added $10.20, or 1.1%, to $904 an ounce, ranging from $895.10 to $907.60.
- Palladium for June delivery shed $1.45, or 0.2%, to $958.70 an ounce, trading between $945.85 and $967.60.
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 / May | 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 | 1,000 | 500 | 2,500 | 4,000 | 47,500 |
| $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 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 100,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 500 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 30,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 75,000 | 230,000 | 915,000 | 915,000 | 6,007,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 30,000 | 30,000 |
