Precious metals climbed in tandem Thursday, registering gains ranging from less than 0.1% for silver to 0.9% each for gold, platinum and palladium.
Gold for April delivery rose $16 to settle at $1,834.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The general marketplace was quieter Thursday, ahead of the February U.S. employment situation report from the Labor Department on Friday morning. The key non-farm payrolls component of the report is expected to show a rise of 225,000 jobs, following a mammoth rise of 517,000 in the January report. Look for higher volatility in many markets is the non-farm jobs print misses expectations," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,815.40 and $1,839.40. They shed 0.08% on Wednesday, for their lowest settlement since Feb. 24, they fell 1.9% on Tuesday, and they ended flat on Monday.
Silver for May delivery edged up 1.4 cents, or 0.07%, to close at $20.165 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $20.02 to $20.36. They dipped 0.2% on Wednesday, for their weakest settlement since Nov. 3, they tumbled 4.4% on Tuesday, and they shed 0.5% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices on Thursday:
-
Up for a second day after closing at its lowest price since Feb. 24, April platinum tacked on $8.70 to $949.30 an ounce, trading between $934 and $962.50.
- After marking its lowest finish since June 7, 2019, palladium for June delivery rose $12.60 to $1,374.70 an ounce, ranging from $1,333 to $1,393.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Published United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged on Thursday after the first gains for the month posted on Wednesday. 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 / March | January Sales | February | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 32,500 | 10,500 | 118,000 | 41,500 | 170,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 7,000 | 1,000 | 37,000 | 8,000 | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 2,000 | 62,000 | 12,000 | 76,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 20,000 | 10,000 | 115,000 | 85,000 | 210,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 14,500 | 4,500 | 59,000 | 19,500 | 83,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 450,000 | 450,000 | 3,949,000 | 900,000 | 5,299,000 |
