Gold and silver futures continued their up and then down pattern Thursday. Gold lost most of its prior session’s gains as it, along with silver, declined 1%.
For the day, gold for August delivery fell $14.20 to finish at $1,377.80 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Prices ranged from an intraday low of $1,373.00 to a high of $1,394.40.
"Gold prices were modestly lower during the overnight session and then extended those losses to hit the daily low when some mildly stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data was released," said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com, in a note.
"Weekly jobless claims were not as high as expected and retail sales also came in a bit better than expected. The data gave a lift to the U.S. stock market, which also was a negative for the precious metals," added Wyckoff.
Gold on Wednesday advanced $15.00, or 1.1%.
Silver for July delivery settled down 21.3 cents to $21.58 an ounce. The white metal traded between $21.50 and $21.92. Prices in the previous session ended up 15.0 cents, or 0.7%.
In other New York precious metals futures on Thursday:
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July platinum dived $35.20, or 2.4%, to $1,447.10 an ounce, trading between $1,444.40 and $1,482.30.
- Palladium for September delivery plummeted $26.00, or 3.4%, to $731.05 an ounce, ranging from $726.95 to $760.50.
In platinum and palladium news, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union in South Africa said it would postpone striking until after a meeting with South Africa’s deputy president. The meeting is scheduled for Friday.
London Fix Precious Metals
In London and matching the direction of precious metals on Wednesday, gold and silver advanced while platinum and palladium fell. When comparing the Wednesday PM to Thursday PM London fixings:
- Gold ended up $2.25, or 0.2%, to $1,385.00 an ounce,
- Silver added 5.0 cents, or 0.2%, to $21.83 an ounce,
- Platinum declined $23.50, or 1.6%, to $1,458.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium fell $11.00, or 1.5%, to $743.00 an ounce
US Bullion Coin Sales in June
Sales levels for United States Mint bullion coins were unchanged for a second straight day on Thursday. The following are daily, June and year-to-date bullion coin totals as provided by the United States Mint.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | June Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 14,000 | 3,500 | 17,500 | 513,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 30,000 | 15,000 | 45,000 | 405,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 4,500 | 2,500 | 7,000 | 151,500 |
| White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 1,200 | 1,200 | 27,000 |
| Perry’s Victory 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 8,000 | 5,900 | 13,900 | 13,900 |
| American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 782,000 | 846,000 | 1,628,000 | 23,396,500 |
Figures above are in the number of coins sold, not in ounces.
