Gold futures on Thursday rallied above $1,400 an ounce for the first time in more than two weeks. The precious metal, along with silver, is riding a two-day winning streak.
Gold for August delivery, now the new most-active contract, advanced $20.20, or 1.5%, to $1,412.00 an ounce on the Comex in New York. The settlement price was the highest since May 14. Gold traded from an intraday low of $1,388.40 to a high of $1,417.70. Weakness in the U.S. dollar supported its gains, opined analysts.
"The greenback fell sharply after the first quarter GDP, [weekly] unemployment claims and pending home sales all disappointed expectations," Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at GFT Markets, said in a daily note according to MarketWatch. "This helped to boost the appeal of gold and silver, which continue to attract solid demand in the physical market."
The day’s economic news drove the dollar down the most in more than a month. The news also bolstered expectations that the Fed would continue its lax monetary policy, which has supported gold.
"Today’s data is an indication that the economy has not fully recovered, and so the Fed will not end its stimulus in a hurry," Phil Streible, a senior commodity broker at R.J. O’Brien & Associates in Chicago, said in a telephone interview discussed on Bloomberg. "Also, a weaker dollar helps."
Silver prices for July delivery climbed 23.7 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $22.69 an ounce. The white metal ranged from $22.31 to $23.06.
PGM’s reversed from prior-day losses. In their session breakdowns:
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July platinum gained $29.70, or 2.0%, to $1,482.70 an ounce, trading between $1,452.70 and $1,484.00.
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Palladium for September delivery surged $10.45, or 1.4%, to $760.55 an ounce, ranging from $750.05 to $764.00.
London Fix Precious Metals
For the first time this week, London precious metals fixings were higher across the board. In contrasting the Wednesday PM to Thursday PM London Fix prices:
- Gold surged $31.00, or 2.2%, to $1,413.50 an ounce,
- Silver prices shot up 32.0 cents, or 1.4%, to $22.68 an ounce,
- Platinum added $9.00, or 0.6%, to $1,464.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium gained $7.00, or 0.9%, to $754.00 an ounce
US Bullion Coin Sales in May
Sales levels for U.S. Mint bullion coins were unchanged Thursday after jumping on Wednesday. The following are 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 | 7,000 | 4,000 | 54,000 | 488,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 42,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 6,000 | 78,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 350,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 1,500 | 12,500 | 144,500 |
| White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 10,600 | 2,500 | 25,800 | 25,800 |
| American Eagle Silver Coins | 0 | 866,500 | 858,500 | 3,458,500 | 21,768,500 |
Figures above are in the number of coins sold, not in ounces.
I ordered silver eagles from Merit. After a month waiting and asking where’s my coins they keep saying they are not available from the mint. They say they are on back order. I just can’t believe this. I have ordered from other bullion dealers and received within a week. Does anyone know if the mint is 30 days or more behind in filling orders for bullion dealers.