Prices for precious metals rallied on Thursday following the Federal Reserve’s adoption of a more dovish tone, signaling the end of its tightening cycle. Gains in the metals ranged from 2.4% for gold to 15.7% for palladium. Silver also soared by 6.4%, breaking an eight-session losing streak.
Gold for February delivery jumped by $47.60 to settle at $2,044.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Fed’s dovish pivot was telegraphed over yesterday’s FOMC meeting and very pragmatically gave a green light for markets to price in a more aggressive Fed cutting cycle on the horizon, and we expect that the market will run with it," Reuters quoted Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities.
"This is extremely positive for gold prices, given that investor demand was one of the missing pieces for the rally to new all-time highs to be sustained."
On the day, gold futures traded between $2,039.10 and $2,062.90. They inched 0.2% higher on Wednesday, they edged 0.03% lower on Tuesday, marking their lowest settlement since Nov. 22, and they fell by 1% on Monday.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery surged by $1.47, ending at $24.386 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $24.06 to $24.53. They declined by 0.4% on Wednesday, recording their lowest settlement since Nov. 13, they dipped by 0.2% on Tuesday, and they shed 0.9% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices on Thursday:
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January platinum tacked on $45.80, or 5%, to $967.90 an ounce, trading between $940.10 and $971.30.
- Palladium for March delivery advanced by $152.20 to $1,121.40 an ounce, with prices ranging from $999 to $1,124.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
U.S. Mint bullion sales last changed on Wednesday, Nov. 29, and those gains were the third for this month. Advances included 15,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 939,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 1,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
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 / This Week | Last Week | August | September | October | November | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 78,000 | 27,500 | 97,000 | 35,000 | 904,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 13,000 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 101,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 30,000 | 18,000 | 14,000 | 196,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 150,000 | 40,000 | 30,000 | 55,000 | 660,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 36,500 | 11,500 | 379,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 3,124,000 | 2,970,000 | 3,938,000 | 2,378,000 | 24,225,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
