Gold prices advanced for a second straight session Thursday, spurred by safe-haven demand as tensions increased between Russia and Ukraine.
Gold for June delivery rose $6, or 0.5%, to end at $1,290.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices ranged from a low of $1,268.40 to a high of $1,299.
"Given the deteriorating situation in Ukraine, we expect safe-haven demand to support gold and to aid price gains in the coming weeks," MarketWatch quoted Mark O’Byrne, a director at GoldCore.
Tensions escalated sharply Thursday after Ukrainian forces said they killed five pro-Russian insurgents and Russia launched new military exercises near the Ukrainian border.
In other precious metals, silver and palladium climbed for a third day and platinum rose for a second day. In the daily closings:
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Silver for May delivery gained a quarter, or 1.3%, to $19.69 an ounce, trading between $18.93 and $19.91.
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July platinum added $5.70, or 0.4%, to $1,409.60 an ounce, ranging from $1,387.30 to $1,417.20.
- Palladium for June delivery surged $16.30, or 2.1%, to $802.30 an ounce, trading between $778 and $806.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals were mixed following modest prior-day losses. In contrasting the London fix prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold rose $6.25, or 0.5%, to $1,291.50 an ounce,
- Silver fell 40 cents, or 2.1%, to $19.06 an ounce,
- Platinum lost $6, or 0.4%, to $1,394 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $1, or 0.1%, to $787 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in March
U.S. Mint bullion sales increased across one-ounce gold coins with 22-karat Gold Eagles rising 1,500 and 24-karat Gold Buffalo coins advancing 500.
Below is a sales breakdown for U.S. Mint bullion coins with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold on Thursday, last week, this week so far, last month, the month-to-date, and this year so far.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Sales Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | March Sales | April Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 300 | 100 | 10,000 | 1,000 | 11,000 |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Coins | 1,500 | 7,500 | 3,000 | 16,000 | 22,500 | 123,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 20,000 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 | 275,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Coins | 500 | 3,000 | 1,000 | 12,000 | 14,000 | 79,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,085,000 | 1,140,500 | 5,354,000 | 3,569,000 | 17,448,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | N/A* | 7,400 | 600 | 12,400 | 10,600 | 23,000 |
*The U.S. Mint on Monday, April 21, said it temporarily sold out of Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins and that it would have additional inventory available in a few weeks.
