Gold prices fell for the second consecutive day on Thursday, following a one-year high on Tuesday. Meanwhile, prices for silver, platinum, and palladium all increased. Except for palladium, all precious metals gained during the holiday-shortened trading week. Gold and silver notably extended their weekly winning streaks to six and four weeks, respectively.
On Thursday, gold for June delivery shed $9.20, or 0.5%, to settle at $2,026.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold and silver prices are near steady in midday U.S. trading Wednesday, on a bit of profit-taking pressure and chart consolidation after hitting 12-month highs overnight. Both metals are in strong technical positions to suggest still more upside in the near term," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $2,016.50 and $2,037.70. On Wednesday, they dipped 0.1%, but on Tuesday, they advanced 1.9% for their highest finish since March 8, 2020. Additionally, they increased by 0.7% on Monday.
Gold prices rose 2% for the week, increasing their 6-week gain to $209.30 or 11.5%. Year-to-date, gold prices have risen 11%.
In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:
"This week, 22 Wall Street analysts participated in the Kitco News Gold Survey. Among the participants, ten analysts, or 50%, were bullish on gold in the near term. At the same time, bearish and neutral expectations garnered five votes each, or 25%
Meanwhile, 647 votes were cast in online polls. Of these, 430 respondents, or 66%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 121, or 19%, said it would be lower, while 96 voters, or 15%, were neutral in the near term."
Elsewhere, silver for May delivery rose 5.6 cents, or 0.2%, to close at $25.093 an ounce. Silver futures traded within a range of $24.69 to $25.18. On Wednesday, they declined 0.3%, but on Tuesday, they rallied 4.5%, logging their highest settlement since April 20, 2022. They also fell 0.6% on Monday.
Silver prices increased by 3.9% for the week, bringing their total increase over four weeks to $4.59 or 22.4%. Year-to-date, silver prices are up by 4.4%.
In other precious metals prices on Thursday and for the week:
-
July platinum added $9.40, or 0.9%, to $1,016.80 an ounce, ranging from $1,004.30 to $1,021.70. Platinum saw a 1.4% increase in price over the course of the week.
- Despite gaining $37.10, or 2.6%, to reach $1,462.40 an ounce, with a trading range of $1,408 to $1,468, palladium for June delivery still saw a weekly decline of 0.4%.
Year to date, platinum has experienced a loss of 6.1%, while palladium has experienced a larger loss of 18.7%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Based on the information provided, sales of U.S. Mint bullion products for American Eagle platinum and silver coins improved this week after a muted performance last week. Meanwhile, the weekly sales of the Mint’s gold bullion coins slowed down from the previous week. When comparing sales on a week-over-week basis:
- American Platinum Eagles: 500 ounces compared 0 ounces
- American Gold Eagles: 26,500 ounces against 53,500 ounces
- American Gold Buffalos: 9,500 ounces compared to 15,500 ounces
- American Silver Eagles: 450,000 ounces against 0 ounces
The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Last Week | January Sales | February | March | This Week / April | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 53,500 | 118,000 | 41,500 | 211,000 | 18,000 | 388,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 37,000 | 8,000 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 54,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 62,000 | 12,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 94,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 115,000 | 85,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 230,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 15,500 | 59,000 | 19,500 | 73,000 | 9,500 | 161,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 3,949,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 450,000 | 6,199,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A | 7,500 | 500 | 8,000 |
This article was updated to include finalized weekly totals.
