Most precious metals futures advanced Thursday. Platinum ended at yet another record and gold stretched its session gains to six in a row, stopping at a seven-year high.
Gold for April delivery added $8.70, or 0.5%, to close at $1,620.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Feb. 14, 2013 when gold finished at $1,635.50 an ounce.
"Featured this week in the precious metals markets is a marked uptick in safe-haven demand as the negative economic consequences from the coronavirus outbreak appear to be increasing," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily research note. "A sell-off in the U.S. stock market today worked to push the precious metals to daily highs in late-morning trading."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,606.60 to a high of $1,626.50. They gained 0.5% on Wednesday and they climbed 1.1% in their start to the holiday-shortened trading week on Tuesday.
Silver for March delivery edged up nearly a cent, or 0.04%, to end at $18.319 an ounce. The finish was the highest since Jan. 7 when silver closed at $18.393 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $18.20 and $18.44. They advanced 0.8% on Wednesday and they surged 2.4% on Tuesday.
In other precious metal futures prices Thursday:
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April platinum dropped $25.50, or 2.5%, to $979 an ounce, ranging from $974.40 to $1,014.
- Palladium for March delivery inched up $2.70, or 0.1%, to a record settlement of $2,573.90 an ounce. Palladium traded between $2,545.60 and $2,674.20.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold rose $14.80, or 0.9%, to $1,619 an ounce.
- Silver added 4 cents, or 0.2%, to $18.385 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged according to available figures from the Mint’s website. 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) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This Week / February | November | December | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 38,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 23,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 18,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 21,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 463,000 | 0 | 3,846,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 463,000 | 0 | 14,500 |
