Gold prices surged 1.8% Thursday to close at their highest level in a week, one day after falling for the ninth time in ten sessions.
Gold prices for June delivery jumped $24.40 to finish at $1,391.80 an ounce on the Comex in New York. The settlement price was the highest since May 15. Gold traded from an intraday low of $1,355.00 to a high of $1,397.10. Gold prices dropped 0.7% in the previous session.
Long absent, a pick-up in safe-haven demand was attributed to gains. A weaker U.S. dollar was also cited.
"Nervous investors are turning to gold as everything else looks very bleak today," Carlos Perez-Santalla, a broker at Marex North America LLC, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg. "The weakness in the dollar is supportive for gold."
Tracking gold on Thursday and rising for a second day, silver for July delivery added 3.6 cents, or 0.2%, to $22.508 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $21.92 to $22.62. The precious metal climbed 1.7 cents on Wednesday.
PGM futures moved opposite of silver and gold. In their daily breakdowns:
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July platinum settled at $1,457.20 an ounce, falling $12.00, or 0.8%. Prices ranged from $1,449.50 to $1,471.90. Platinum gained 0.7%, in the prior session.
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Snapping a two-session winning streak, palladium for June delivery declined $13.50, or 1.8%, to $738.65 an ounce. Prices traded between $734.00 and $748.70. Palladium added 0.5% on Tuesday.
London Fix Precious Metals
London Fix precious metals declined across the board Thursday after rising as a group during the previous two days. In contrasting the Wednesday PM to Thursday PM London fixings:
- Gold prices fell $28.00, or 2.0%, to $1,380.50 an ounce,
- Silver shed 15.0 cents, or 0.7%, to $22.47 an ounce,
- Platinum lost $19.00, or 1.3%, to $1,455.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium declined $11.00, or 1.5%, to $739.00 an ounce
US Bullion Coin Sales in May
Sales levels were unchanged Thursday for United States Mint bullion coins. The following are the latest daily, May and year-to-date bullion coin totals as published by the United States Mint.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | May Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 28,000 | 7,000 | 50,000 | 484,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 42,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 76,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 300,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 6,500 | 2,000 | 11,000 | 143,000 |
| White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 12,700 | 10,600 | 23,300 | 23,300 |
| American Eagle Silver Coins | 0 | 833,500 | 866,500 | 2,600,000 | 20,910,000 |
*The U.S. Mint has temporarily suspended sales of its smallest American Gold Eagle until inventories are replenished. The Mint ran out of them on April 22.
