Gold futures edged higher Thursday, following two days of modest declines, as the U.S. dollar weakened.
Gold for December delivery added $3.80, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,257.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold prices are having difficulty moving higher, but are also reluctant to move lower. They are looking for a new driver," Reutrers quoted ABN AMRO commodity strategist Georgette Boele.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,254.70 to a high of $1,263.90. They slipped 0.2% on Wednesday, dipped 0.4% on Tuesday and climbed 0.7% on Monday.
Lower for a third day in row, silver for December shed 4.7 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $17.458 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.43 and $17.71. On the week so far, they are still about 0.5% higher.
In other precious metals trading:
-
January platinum declined $9, or 1%, to $932.90 an ounce, ranging from $932.10 to $952.
- Palladium for December delivery fell $12.25, or 1.9%, to $636.85 an ounce, trading between $635 and $649.75.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold rose $4.55, or 0.4%, to $1,261.05 an ounce.
- Silver added 15 cents, or 0.9%, to $17.59 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
U.S. Mint bullion products registered gains of 2,500 ounces in America Gold Eagles and 500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Sept Sales | Oct Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins* | – | 20,000 | ||||
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 42,000 | 11,000 | 79,000 | 53,000 | 618,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 5,000 | 3,000 | 59,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 16,000 | 8,000 | 124,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 5,000 | 15,000 | 15,000 | 85,000 | 30,000 | 730,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 500 | 8,000 | 3,000 | 17,500 | 11,000 | 160,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,405,000 | 545,000 | 1,675,000 | 1,950,000 | 32,525,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 105,000 | ||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 75,000 | ||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 0 | 36,300 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 800 | 2,000 | 1,800 | 31,300 |
