Precious metals rallied Thursday, scoring gains ranging from 1.9% for gold to 11% for palladium. Increases in platinum and palladium were their first in six sessions.
Gold for February delivery tacked on $33.70 to settle at $1,798.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“The metals market traders on this day reckoned rising inflation prospects are bullish, as is shown by market history. A lower U.S. dollar index today, higher crude oil prices and stable U.S. Treasury yields are also friendly for the precious metals bulls. The safe-haven metals rallied today despite upbeat trader and investor risk appetite late this week. Trading in the metals markets this week is a prime example of the old trading adage, ‘markets can remain illogical longer than traders can remain solvent’," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,775.70 to a high of $1,800.60. They shed 0.4% on Wednesday — registering their lowest price since Dec. 2, they fell 0.9% on Tuesday, and they climbed 0.2% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery surged 94 cents, or 4.4%, to settle at $22.485 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $21.93 and $22.56. They lost 1.7% on Wednesday — marking their lowest close since Sept. 29, they dropped 1.8% on Tuesday, and they rose 0.6% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices on Thursday:
-
January platinum gained $34.70, or 3.9%, to $928.90 an ounce, ranging from $895.60 to $931.70.
- Palladium for March delivery soared $171.20 to $1,722.80 an ounce, trading between $1,593 and $1,730.
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 | October | November | December | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 24,500 | 14,500 | 135,500 | 125,500 | 41,000 | 1,115,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 95,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 22,000 | 10,000 | 2,000 | 162,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 85,000 | 40,000 | 0 | 490,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 7,000 | 2,500 | 41,000 | 39,500 | 10,500 | 350,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,076,000 | 1,523,500 | 0 | 28,275,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,700 | 0 | 8,700 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,900 |
Nice bounce!