Gold prices inched higher Thursday to notch a fourth straight day of gains and log a fresh six-month high.
Gold for April delivery rose $1.90, or 0.1%, to end at $1,372.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since gold closed at $1,386.70 an ounce on Sept. 9. Safe-haven demand continues to play a large role in gains, opined analysts.
"The Ukraine situation is still very volatile, so any news out of there could push gold higher," Alfonso Esparza, senior currency analyst in Toronto at Oanda Corp., said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "We are seeing people move toward the risk-averse instruments like gold in the uncertain environment."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,364.90 to a high of $1,375.70. The precious metal is $34.20, or 2.6%, higher than its close on Friday.
Silver for May delivery declined 16 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $21.20 an ounce after soaring in the prior session by 54 cents, or 2.6%. Silver traded between $21.11 and $21.48. It is 27 cents higher on the week so far.
PGMs advanced for a second session. In futures prices on Thursday:
-
April platinum added $3.10, or 0.2%, to $1,479.40 an ounce, ranging from $1,470 to $1,484.
- Palladium for June delivery rose $1.80, or 0.2%, to $778.95 an ounce, trading between $772.55 and $780.50.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals moved higher. In contrasting the London fix prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold gained $2.75, or 0.2%, to $1,368.75 an ounce,
- Silver turned up 27 cents, or 1.3%, to $21.24 an ounce,
- Platinum tacked on $3, or 0.2%, to $1,476 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $4, or 0.5%, to $776 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in March
Sales of U.S. Mint bullion products were limited Thursday to the smallest one-tenth ounce American Gold Eagle. It rose by 5,000. Additionally, after the CoinNews.net bullion report on Wednesday, the Mint’s American Gold Buffalo rose by 500.
American Eagle coins in gold and silver have sales this week that have surpassed those of last week.
Below is a sales breakdown across U.S. Mint bullion products with columns offering the number of bullion coins sold on Thursday, the week so far, last week, last month, the month-to-date, and the year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Sales Last Week | Week-To-Date | February Sales | March Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | N/A | 8,700 | N/A | 8,700 | 8,700 |
| $50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 22,000 | 3,000 | 87,500 |
| $25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 17,000 |
| $10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 38,000 |
| $5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 5,000 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 50,000 | 25,000 | 235,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 1,500 | 12,000 | 5,500 | 59,000 |
| $1 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,100,000 | 1,124,500 | 3,750,000 | 2,224,500 | 10,749,500 |
