Precious metals futures registered losses Thursday that ranged from 1% for both gold and palladium to 1.5% for silver.
Gold for December delivery fell $19.90 to settle at $1,932.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated speech today was deemed bullish, but metals traders quickly discounted it, instead focusing on the metals-bearish aspects of rising U.S. Treasury bond yields as a competing asset," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily research note.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,914.70 to a high of $1,987. They gained 1.5% on Wednesday, they declined 0.8% on Tuesday, and they shed 0.4% on Monday. Earlier this month, on Aug. 6, gold marked a record settlement of $2,069.40 an ounce.
Silver for September delivery dropped 42.4 cents to close at $27.025 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $26.56 and $28.04. They soared 4.5% on Wednesday, they fell 1.3% on Tuesday, and they slipped 0.5% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures Thursday:
-
October platinum shed $11.70, or 1.2%, to $928.10 an ounce, ranging from $918.80 to $960.
- Palladium for December delivery — the new, most active contract — shed $22.40 to $2,190.50 an ounce, trading between $2,161.30 and $2,249.40.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $9.10, or 0.5%, to $1,923.85 an ounce.
- Silver rose 85 cents, or 3.2%, to $27.245 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Thursday. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday / This Week | Last Week | June | July | August | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 16,500 | 42,500 | 107,500 | 86,000 | 521,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 51,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 12,000 | 2,000 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 76,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 30,000 | 0 | 35,000 | 30,000 | 240,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 7,500 | 30,000 | 22,500 | 178,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,000,000 | 1,398,000 | 1,084,500 | 2,593,000 | 16,294,000 |
| America Samoa 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Weir Farm 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Salt River Bay 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Marsh Billings 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 | 0 | 45,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56,500 |
