Precious metals declined Thursday following two days of increases. Gold’s loss was its first in four sessions. The yellow metal scored a more than one-month high on Wednesday.
Gold for December delivery fell $24.90, or 1.3%, to settle at $1,904.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Both metals [gold and silver] continue to trade in an inverse fashion with the daily movements of the U.S. dollar index, which on this day is higher on a corrective bounce after hitting a six-week low Wednesday. The safe-haven gold and silver bulls need a new fundamental spark, such as a geopolitical flare-up, to break prices out of their weeks-long malaise," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily research note.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,894.20 to a high of $1,929.40. They gained 0.7% on Wednesday — for their best settlement since Sept. 18, they rose 0.2% on Tuesday and they moved up 0.3% on Monday.
Silver for December delivery dropped 53.2 cents, or 2.1%, to settle at $24.709. Silver futures traded between $24.46 and $25.23. They advanced 1% on Wednesday — for their highest close since Oct. 12, they added 1.1% on Tuesday and they tacked on 1.2% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices Thursday:
-
January platinum lost $9.90, or 1.1%, to $884 an ounce, ranging from $861.70 to $895.60.
- Palladium for December delivery declined $31.60, or 1.3%, to $2,395.90 an ounce, trading between $2,366.80 and $2,428.90.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold fell $23.20, or 1.2%, to $1,900.95 an ounce.
- Silver declined 10.5 cents, or 0.4%, to $24.915 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales increased Thursday by a combined 2,000 ounces in gold coins.
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 | Last Week | This Week | August | September | October | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,500 | 10,000 | 7,000 | 104,000 | 18,500 | 46,500 | 604,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 10,000 | 3,000 | 5,000 | 63,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 92,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 70,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 300,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 5,000 | 1,000 | 28,000 | 4,500 | 14,500 | 203,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 873,000 | 724,000 | 4,477,000 | 2,958,500 | 2,423,000 | 23,559,500 |
| America Samoa 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Weir Farm 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Salt River Bay 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Marsh Billings 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Tallgrass Prairie 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 45,000 | 0 | 45,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56,500 |
