Precious metals futures finished lower Thursday. Gold’s loss was its first in five sessions.
Gold for December delivery dropped $9.30, or 0.8%, to close at $1,194 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The finish was the lowest since last Friday, Aug. 17.
"The U.S. dollar index has regained some footing and is trading solidly higher today after sliding lower most of this week, and that’s a daily negative for the precious metals markets," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report.
"Traders have pretty much digested Wednesday afternoon’s FOMC minutes, which said the Fed will very likely in September raise U.S. interest rates for the third time this year. The U.S. dollar was boosted by the FOMC minutes," Wyckoff added.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,192.60 to a high of $1,203.40. They rose 0.3% on Wednesday — ending at their best point since Aug. 10, climbed 0.5% on Tuesday, and gained 0.9% on Monday.
Elsewhere, silver for September declined 20.8 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $14.542 an ounce. Silver’s close was the lowest since Wednesday, Aug 15.
Silver futures traded between $14.60 and $14.85. They dipped 0.1% on Wednesday, rose 0.7% on Tuesday and edged up 0.3% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices on Thursday:
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October platinum fell $15.30, or 1.9%, to $778.40 an ounce, ranging from $776.20 to $795.60.
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Palladium for September delivery declined $7, or 0.8%, to $911.20 an ounce, trading between $905.20 and $919.90.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $4.30, or 0.4%, to 1,192.35 an ounce.
- Silver fell 18.5 cents, or 1.3%, to $14.625 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 | Last Week | July | August | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 31,500 | 13,500 | 132,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 20,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 25,000 | 5,000 | 155,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,500 | 24,500 | 18,000 | 96,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 690,000 | 885,000 | 1,180,000 | 8,887,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
