Gold ended slightly lower for a second straight day after snapping a nine-session winning streak.
Gold for April delivery fell $3.50, or 0.3%, to finish at $1,316.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The precious metal traded from a low of $1,307.10 to a high of $1,318.70.
"There was a heavy slate of U.S. economic data released Thursday, including the weekly jobless claims report, real earnings, the consumer price index, leading economic indicators, the flash manufacturing PMI, the Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey, and the weekly DOE energy stocks report," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, wrote in a daily note. "The data was a mixed bag for the metals markets — showing both stronger-than-expected readings and weaker-than-expected readings — and all-in-all the markets were little impacted."
Silver tracked gold, also notching a second day of losses. Silver for March delivery fell 17 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $21.68 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $21.40 to $21.79. Silver scored eleven straight session gains until slipping on Wednesday.
In PGM futures on Thursday:
-
April platinum declined $12, or 0.8%, to $1,412.50 an ounce after ending flat in the prior session. Platinum traded between $1,406.50 and $1,418.50.
- Rising for the first time in three sessions, palladium for March delivery added 90 cents, or 0.1%, to $736.30 an ounce. It ranged from $728.20 to $737.95.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals declined. In contrasting London fix prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold shed $4.25, or 0.3%, to $1,316.25 an ounce,
- Silver fell 16 cents, or 0.7%, to $21.59 an ounce,
- Platinum declined $11, or 0.8%, to $1,413 an ounce, and
- Palladium lost $2, or 0.3%, to $736 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in February
U.S. Mint Silver Eagles scored a modest sales increase on Thursday of 26,500. The bureau also published bullion sales gains late on Wednesday with one ounce and one-tenth once Gold Eagles each gaining 5,000.
Below is a current sales breakdown across all the U.S. Mint bullion products.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Weekly Sales | Sales Last Week | Feb Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 7,000 | 5,000 | 14,000 | 76,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 14,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 20,000 | 35,000 | 195,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 4,500 | 10,500 | 52,000 |
| American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 26,500 | 681,000 | 900,000 | 2,431,000 | 7,206,500 |
