Precious metals were little changed Thursday. Gold was alone in gains, and finished at a more than three-week high.
Gold for February delivery — the new, most active contract — edged up 60 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,230.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Nov. 5.
"Technically, the gold bears still have the overall near-term technical advantage but the bulls have gained some upside momentum late this week," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Gold bulls’ next upside near-term price breakout objective is to produce a close in February futures above solid technical resistance at the October high of $1,252.00. Bears’ next near-term downside price breakout objective is pushing prices below solid technical support at $1,200.00."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,226.70 to a high of $1,234.90. They gained 0.8% on Wednesday, they lost 0.7% on Tuesday — ending at their lowest price since Nov. 14, and they dipped less than 0.1% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery — the new, most active contract — shed 5.3 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $14.402 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.34 and $14.47. They advanced 1.7% on Wednesday, they declined 0.9% on Tuesday — also ending at their lowest price since Nov. 14, and they fell 0.3% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices Thursday:
-
January platinum declined $5.40, or 0.7%, to $820.90 an ounce, ranging from $818.90 to $832.50.
- Palladium for March delivery slipped 50 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $1,151.40 an ounce — $3.20 lower than the record set on Nov. 16. Palladium prices traded between $1,141.30 and $1,158.20.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold rose $13, or 1.1%, to 1,226.25 an ounce.
- Silver added 11.5 cents, or 0.8%, to $14.265 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Last Week | This Week | October | November | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21,000 | 5,000 | 177,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 225,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6,500 | 3,000 | 117,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,430,000 | 1,270,000 | 14,835,000 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Cumberland Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,500 |
| Block Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | N/A | 80,000 | N/A | 80,000 | 80,000 |
