Gold, silver and other precious metals declined Thursday as strength in the U.S. dollar pressured commodities.
Gold for April delivery fell $7.50, or 0.5%, to $1,671.30 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold had traded as low as $1,663.40 an ounce.
Gold’s temporary rebound "was impressive in the face of a rising dollar, but the dollar’s continued strong rise today eventually forced more selling in gold, and the metal slid back downward," MarketWatch quoted Brien Lundin, editor of Gold Newsletter. It was "too much dollar strength, for too long."
Gold so far this week has moved sideways to log only modest daily changes. It has gained 70 cents since Friday.
Silver for March delivery fell 47.4 cents, or 1.5%, to settle at $31.403 an ounce. It traded between $31.295 and $31.935. Silver in the previous session gained less than a penny.
Snapping a four-session winning streak and falling from a 16-month high, April Platinum lost $14.20, or 0.8%, to close at $1,722.30 an ounce. It ranged from a low of $1,721.10 to a high of $1,743.00.
Palladium fell the most among precious metals. Palladium for March delivery declined $14.35, or 1.9%, to $750.45 an ounce, trading between $749.50 and $768.35.
London Bullion Prices
In London, gold declined while other precious metals advanced. In contrasting the Wednesday PM to Thursday PM Fix prices:
- Gold fell $6.25, or 0.4%, to $1,668.00 an ounce,
- Silver added 5.0 cents, or 0.2%, to $31.75 an ounce,
- Platinum rose $12.00, or 0.7, to $1,736.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium gained 50.0 cents, or 0.1%, to $764.50 an ounce
US Bullion Coins
Sales of American Eagle gold bullion coins climbed for the first time in February. Advances occurred across all American Gold Eagle sizes with sales amounting to 33,000 troy ounces. Also on Thursday, American Eagle silver bullion coins added 98,000
The following two tables offer U.S. Mint bullion sales for the day, week-to-date and year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 29,500 | 17,500 | 29,500 | 154,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 1,000 | 0 | 1,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 4,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 28,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 20,000 | 5,000 | 20,000 | 130,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,500 | 0 | 72,500 |
| American Eagle Silver Coin | 98,000 | 1,491,000 | 773,500 | 8,271,500 |
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | All-Time Sales | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 400 | 22,300 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 21,000 |
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,400 |
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 9,300 | 0 | 104,900 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,300 | 0 | 43,500 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 4,260 | -2,260 | 33,400 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 15,860 | -860 | 290,500 |
*The Chickasaw total was adjusted down by -2,260 on Tuesday. Last week on Thursday its sales had trimmed by 40. Such negative adjustments are very atypical in U.S. Mint reported bullion coin sales.
All coin sales above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the bullion coin’s weight.
