U.S. gold prices recovered slightly with an advance of nearly $6 Thursday after having cratered $134.60 during the previous two sessions in a corrective pull-back hedged with profit-taking.
"Gold’s decline with such a dramatic magnitude in such a short period of time is driven by short-term momentum investors coming out, not long-term investors," Reuters quoted Stanley Crouch, chief investment officer at Aegis Capital, who oversees $2 billion in assets.
December gold prices advanced $5.90, or 0.3 percent to settle at $1,763.20 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold ranged from $1,705.40 to $1,771.10. The metal plunged to its low point of the day soon after CME Group Inc. raised margin requirements to trade gold by 27 percent. At the end of trading Thursday, it will cost $9,450 to buy a 100 ounce futures contract and $7,000 to maintain it. The hike was the second this month, following the 22 percent increase on August 11.
"Sellers tried to force gold under $1,700 and couldn’t, so the funds came back," Bloomberg quoted Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services in Chicago. "This is long-term buying against the equities."
After falling $3.129, or 7.4 percent, in the previous session, September silver prices rebounded $1.583, or 4.0 percent, to $40.745 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $38.760 and $41.030.
Platinum prices continued to go negative with October futures falling $3.90, or 0.2 percent, to settle at $1,822.40 an ounce. That, however, was significantly higher than its intraday low of $1,788.60 an ounce. Platinum reached a ceiling of $1,835.00.
Palladium prices for September delivery advanced $8.00, or 1.1 percent, to close at $751.15 an ounce. Palladium traded from $743.25 to $756.00.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London precious metals remained lower. When comparing London PM fixing prices from Thursday over Wednesday, gold lost $41.00 to $1,729.00 an ounce, silver prices declined $3.08 cents to $39.00 an ounce, platinum fell $62.00 to $1,800.00 an ounce and palladium retreated $13.00 to $746.00 an ounce.
U.S. Mint Bullion Coin Sales
American Silver Eagles rose 100,000, matching the previous day’s pick-up. The .999 fine silver bullion coins are standing just under 2.9 million in sales for August. Other bullion coin gains reported by the United States Mint on Thursday included 2,500 for the one-ounce 22-karat American Gold Eagle and 1,000 for the 24-karat American Gold Buffalo.
The following daily, August and year-to-date bullion coin sales are as of 4:31 p.m. ET.
| Sales of US Mint American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Gains |
August Gains |
YTD 2011 |
|
| Gold Eagle Coin (1 oz.) | 2,500 | 92,500 | 661,500 |
| Gold Eagle Coin (1/2 oz.) | 0 | 3,000 | 61,000 |
| Gold Eagle Coin (1/4 oz.) | 0 | 6,000 | 70,000 |
| Gold Eagle Coin (1/10 oz.) | 0 | 55,000 | 320,000 |
| Gold Buffalo Coin (1 oz.) | 1,000 | 24,500 | 116,000 |
| Silver Eagles (1 oz.) | 100,000 | 2.8995M | 28.171M |
| Sales of America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coins* | |
|---|---|
| YTD 2011 |
|
| Gettysburg National Military Park 5 oz. | 126,700 |
| Glacier National Park 5 oz. | 126,700 |
| Olympic National Park 5 oz. | 80,700 |
| Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. | 27,500 |
| Chickasaw Park 5 oz. | 15,200 |
| TOTAL | 380,400 |
*The Gettysburg and Glacier America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins are sold out. Unlike other investment-grade products, the United States Mint does not provide daily per coin sales totals for the Olympic, Vicksburg, and Chickasaw America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins. Their individual totals are as of August 2. The five ounce combined coin totals above (last line) are as of August 22.
