Precious metals posted increases on Thursday that ranged from 0.8% for gold to 2.1% for silver. Advances in gold and platinum were their sixth in a row. The former scored and almost five-month high. Silver finished at a more than three-month high.
Gold for December delivery tacked on $15.60 to settle at $1,863.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since June 14 when gold ended at $1,865.90 an ounce.
"The market is spooked with yesterday’s CPI data coming in as high as it was. Traders are looking at gold as being a safety asset, as a hedge against this inflation risk," Reuters quoted Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
The Labor Department reported on Wednesday that consumer prices rose 0.9% in October from 0.4% in September and year-on-year inflation grew 6.2% — the biggest gain since November 1990, following a 5.4% increase.
"Once again we have hot inflationary data," Reuters quoted David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures. "Gold being the quintessential hedge against inflation, we believe inflation is the underlying positive environment that will foster the gold market rally in the weeks and months ahead."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,845.10 to a high of $1,868.70. They gained 1% on Wednesday, they edged up 0.2% on Tuesday, and they rose 0.6% on Monday.
Silver for December delivery surged 52.9 cents to settle at $25.301 an ounce. The close was the best since Aug. 4 when silver finished at $25.461 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $24.64 and $25.35. They rallied 1.9% on Wednesday, they declined 0.9% on Tuesday, and they advanced 1.6% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices on Thursday:
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January platinum added $17.50, or 1.6%, to $1,094.50 an ounce, ranging from $1,070.40 to $1,099.50.
- Palladium for December added $23.70, or 1.2%, to $2,062.60 an ounce, trading between $2,021 and $2,083.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
Published 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.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Last Week | This Week | September | October | November | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 17,500 | 19,000 | 67,500 | 135,500 | 36,500 | 985,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 4,000 | 7,000 | 3,000 | 91,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 22,000 | 6,000 | 156,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 35,000 | 85,000 | 15,000 | 465,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 13,500 | 24,000 | 41,000 | 13,500 | 314,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 474,500 | 0 | 2,735,000 | 1,076,000 | 474,500 | 27,226,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 7,900 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7,900 | 82,900 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,900 |
