Platinum edged higher Thursday for another six-year settlement high. Gold, silver and palladium, meanwhile, declined. Gold’s loss was its first in five sessions.
Gold for April delivery gave back $15.90, or 0.9%, to settle at $1,826.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold’s inability to trade back over $1,850 has triggered profit-taking as the sharp USD decline has eased," Reuters quoted Tai Wong, head of base and precious metals derivatives trading at BMO.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,823.20 to a high of $1,848.60. They moved up 0.3% on Wednesday, for their highest settlement since Feb. 1, they gained 0.2% on Tuesday and they climbed 1.2% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery shed 3.1 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $27.047 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $26.75 and $27.35. They dropped 1.2% on Wednesday, they declined 0.6% on Tuesday, and they surged 2.1% on Monday.
In other precious metals Thursday:
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April platinum inched up 10 cents to $1,247 an ounce, ranging from $1,235.60 to $1,281.40. The settlement was the highest since Feb. 5, 2015 when platinum ended at $1,249.70.
- Palladium for March delivery lost $5.50, or 0.2%, to $2,347 an ounce, trading between $2,337.50 and $2,373.50.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $2.55, or 0.1%, to $1,840.10 an ounce.
- Silver fell 10.5 cents, or 0.4%, to $27.125 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
United States Mint bullion sales increased Thursday by a combined 17,000 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 | December | January Sales | February | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 15,000 | 64,500 | 22,000 | 48,500 | 191,000 | 86,500 | 277,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 22,000 | 0 | 22,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36,000 | 0 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 95,000 | 0 | 95,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 2,000 | 9,000 | 2,500 | 10,500 | 61,500 | 11,500 | 73,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,621,000 | 500,000 | 751,000 | 4,775,000 | 2,121,000 | 6,896,000 |
| America Samoa 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Weir Farm 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Salt River Bay 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marsh Billings 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tallgrass Prairie 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
