Precious metals declined on Thursday, with losses ranging from 1.1% for silver to 2.3% for both platinum and palladium. Both gold and silver reached slightly over seven-week lows. Gold experienced its sixth decline in seven sessions.
Gold for June delivery dropped by $25.10, or 1.3%, to settle at $1,959.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since March 27.
"The three key outside markets are all bearish for the precious metals today. The U.S. dollar index is solidly up and hit a seven-week high. Rising U.S. Treasury yields and lower crude oil prices on this day complete the bearish trifecta," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,954.40 and $1,988.80, following a 0.4% loss on Wednesday, a 1.5% decline on Tuesday, and a slight 0.1% increase on Monday.
Meanwhile, silver for July delivery lost 26.4 cents to end at $23.633 an ounce. The settlement was the lowest since March 29.
Silver futures traded between $23.48 and $23.96, after a 0.2% increase on Wednesday, a 1.6% decline on Tuesday, and a 0.6% rise on Monday.
In other precious metals prices on Thursday:
-
July platinum fell by $24.40 to $1,058.20 an ounce, ranging from $1,055 to $1,080.80.
- Palladium for June delivery fell by $34.70 to $1,450.20, trading between $1,448.50 and $1,486.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
U.S. Mint published bullion sales were unchanged Thursday for a third consecutive day, following increases in gold and silver coins on Monday. The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold (not total ounces) during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Last Week | This Week | February | March | April | May | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 13,000 | 21,500 | 41,500 | 211,000 | 159,000 | 34,500 | 564,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 0 | 54,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 18,000 | 18,000 | 12,000 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 18,000 | 132,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 85,000 | 10,000 | 35,000 | 0 | 245,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 23,000 | 9,500 | 19,500 | 73,000 | 61,000 | 32,500 | 245,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 450,000 | 403,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 853,000 | 7,502,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 7,500 | 500 | 0 | 8,000 |
