Gold declined Thursday for the second time since November 5 as the U.S. dollar firmed and the World Gold Council reported that gold demand weakened in the third quarter.
Gold for December delivery fell $16.30, or 0.9%, to $1,713.80 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Prices traded between intraday levels of $1,704.50 and $1,727.90.
Selling sentiment in gold keyed off "a weak demand summary from the World Gold Council partly influenced by very tough year-over-year comparisons to the big runup in gold demand associated with the U.S. budget fiasco in August 2011," MarketWatch quoted Richard Hastings, macro strategist at Global Hunter Securities.
Despite weaker demand that totaled 11 percent during the quarter, Marcus Grubb, Managing Director, Investment at the World Gold Council noted the following:
"Gold is beginning to re-establish itself as part of the fabric of the financial system. In the medium term, the quantitative easing initiatives in the West and the continuing growth story in the East, particularly in India and China, coupled with the seasonally strong quarter coming up in Asia, are excellent indicators for further growth in the gold market.
"Against a backdrop of continued global economic uncertainty and elections in China and the US, it is clear from five year rising demand trends that gold’s fundamental property as a vehicle for capital preservation continues to endure, as evidenced by this quarter’s increase in global ETF investment, up 56% and continued purchasing by central banks, the ultimate long term investors."
Other precious metals futures tracked gold.
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Silver for December delivery shed 20.6 cents, or 0.6%, to $32.674 an ounce, ranging from $32.150 to $32.775.
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Platinum for January delivery fell $18.30, or 1.2%, to $1,573.30 an ounce, trading between $1,563.00 and $1,589.10.
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Palladium for December delivery lost $10.35, or 1.6%, to $631.20 an ounce, ranging from $628.00 to $642.35.
London Bullion Prices
London precious metals were mixed yet again Thursday. In contrasting the latest London PM fixings:
- Gold declined $15.75, or 0.9%, to $1,710.00 an ounce,
- Silver gained 9.0 cents, or 0.3%, to $32.57 an ounce,
- Platinum fell $5.00, or 0.3%, to $1,578.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium lost $4.00, or 0.6%, to $639.00 an ounce
US Bullion Coin Sales in November
Sales levels were unchanged Thursday for U.S. Mint bullion coins. Below are the latest daily, November and year-to-date bullion sales as provided by the U.S. Mint.
| US Mint American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Sales | November Sales | YTD 2012 | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 44,500 | 509,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 64,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 68,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 20,000 | 300,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Coins | 0 | 6,500 | 114,000 |
| American Silver Eagle Coin | 0 | 2,195,500 | 31,143,500 |
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Sales | November Sales | All-Time Total | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,800 | 19,900 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,800 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 22,300 |
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,500 | 15,000 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 85,900 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 39,500 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 29,700 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 11,600 | 252,300 |
Coin sales listed above are in the number of bullion coins sold, not the amount of ounces.
