Gold, silver, platinum and palladium declined on Thursday, padding their losses in June and the second quarter. Gold, silver and platinum also registered, respectively, near five-month, two-year, and seven-month settlement lows. Through the first half of this year, only palladium managed to gain, but just barely.
Gold for August delivery fell $10.20, or 0.6%, to finish at $1,807.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Feb. 3 when gold ended at $1,804.10 an ounce.
"The significantly bearish near-term technical postures for both metals [gold and silver] are inviting the speculators to play the short sides of the futures markets at present,” Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures logged losses of 2.2% in June, 7.5% in the second quarter, and 1.2% in the first half of 2022.
Silver for September delivery lost 38.6 cents, or 1.9%, to settle at $20.352 an ounce. The settlement was the lowest since silver closed at $20.192 an ounce on July 20, 2020. Silver futures registered declines of 6.2% in June, 19% in the quarter, and 12.9% in the first half of this year.
In other precious metals futures:
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October platinum ended down $14.60, or 1.6%, to $895.30 an ounce — the lowest finish since ending at $894.20 an ounce on Dec. 15. The precious metal posted losses of 7.5% in June, 10.1% in the second quarter, and 7.3% in the first half of 2022.
- Palladium for September delivery declined $30.50, or 1.6%, to $1,916.10 an ounce, for monthly and quarterly drops of 4.5% and 15.1%. Palladium edged 0.2% higher in the first half of this year.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
U.S. Mint bullion sales in June slowed for both gold and silver coins and are lower than in June of last year. First half of year results — this year vs. last — are divided with gold sales in H1 2022 higher than in H1 2021 and silver sales in H1 2022 lower than in H1 2021. In headline comparisons:
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American Eagle gold coins advanced 44,000 ounces in June, registering declines of 74.9% from 175,000 ounces in May and 75.8% from 182,000 ounces in June 2021. American Gold Eagle sales for the year to date at 733,500 ounces are 12.3% higher than the 653,00 ounces sold in first half of last year.
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American Eagle silver coins increased by 861,000 ounces, representing declines of 36.2% from 1.35 million ounces in May and 69.3% from 2.8 million ounces in June 2021. 2022 American Silver Eagle sales at 10,642,500 ounces are 33.1% lower than the 15,906,500 ounces sold during the first half of last year.
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American Buffalo gold coins advanced 15,000 ounces in June, marking declines of 73.2% from 56,000 ounces in May and 45.5% from 27,500 ounces in June 2021. American Gold Buffalo sales for the year at 253,000 ounces are 30.8% higher than the 193,500 ounces sold in the same period last year last year.
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Sales of the American Eagle platinum coin moved up in June following two months of silence. They now include 18,500 ounces in June; 14,200 ounces in March; and 25,800 ounces in February for a 2022 total so far of 58,500 ounces. Last year’s edition registered increases of 35,000 in March and 40,000 ounces in May for a 2021 total of 75,000 ounces.
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 | April | May | June | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 27,500 | 80,500 | 164,500* | 27,500 | 622,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 3,000 | 7,000* | 4,000 | 64,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 16,000 | 14,000 | 8,000 | 16,000 | 126,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 105,000 | 25,000 | 50,000 | 105,000 | 475,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 12,500 | 27,500 | 56,000 | 15,000 | 253,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 861,000 | 850,000 | 1,350,000* | 861,000 | 10,642,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 18,500 | 0 | 0 | 18,500 | 58,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
*On Monday, the U.S. Mint adjusted upwards May sales of: $50 Gold Eagles to 164,500 coins from 137,500 coins; $25 Gold Eagles to 7,000 coins from 5,000 coins; and American Silver Eagles to 1.350 million coins from 850,000 coins.
Your exactly right Major D this is not the great reset this is the great manipulation, the great fraud and the great lie – kudos for being one of the few to see right thru this sham. Congrats First-On-Thread we have been duped by the Coin Mafia – I reject Gold and Silver from this point on and will only Award Rolex or better for First-On-Thread Awards. Rolex is the World’s TRUE Gold and Silver – it can’t be manipulated by the Coin Mafia and it always holds it’s value – Anywhere in the World you can sell or trade… Read more »
You don’t by any chance have some Rolex Watches for sale?
Actually, I do………………………………
We don’t just traffic it – we invented it
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Just think it all led to this
I just had this thought – is there a Sonny & Cher commemorative coin?
Did someone say Boondocks?
Did someone say Sublime https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uc3ZrmhDN4