Gold prices returned to negative territory Thursday, ending lower for the sixth time in seven sessions after advancing nearly $11 in the prior session.
Pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar, gold for June delivery shed $6.20, or 0.5%, to close at $1,284.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices ranged from an intraday low of $1,281.90 to a high of $1,294.20.
"Gold is in a technical ‘no man’s land’ as it has broken the sharp downtrend that was in place since the mid-March highs just shy of $1,400 an ounce (but that is more of a neutral sign than bullish)," MarketWatch quoted Tyler Richey, an analyst for the 7:00’s Report, which offers daily markets commentary. "Now futures seem ‘stuck’ between the 100- and 200-day moving averages at $1,272.80 and $1,296.40 respectively."
Silver for May delivery lost 25 cents, or 1.2%, to close at $19.81 an ounce. It traded between $19.66 and $20.08. Prices are up less than 2 cents on the week so far, buoyed by an advance of 36 cents, or 1.8%, in the previous session.
Platinum and palladium once again added to previous-day gains. In the daily breakdowns:
-
July platinum gained $6.80, or 0.5%, to $1,445.50 an ounce, ranging from $1,433.30 to $1,446.70.
- Palladium for June delivery edged up $1.05, or 0.1%, to $788.85 an ounce, trading between $782.80 and $792.50.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals moved mostly higher, with gold the exception. In contrasting the London fix prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold fell $8, or 0.6%, to $1,284 an ounce,
- Silver added a penny to $19.83 an ounce,
- Platinum rose $2, or 0.1%, to $1,436 an ounce, and
- Palladium inched up 50 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $788 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in March
U.S. Mint gold coin sales increased Thursday. Totals include 1,000 ounces in Gold Eagles and 3,000 ounces in Gold Buffalos.
Below is a sales breakdown across U.S. Mint bullion products with columns offering the number of bullion coins sold today, last week, this week, last month, this month and the year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Sales Last Week | Sales This Week | March Sales | April Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 700 | 10,000 | 200 | 10,200 |
| $50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 5,500 | 16,000 | 4,500 | 105,00 |
| $25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 1,000 | 0 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 44,000 |
| $5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 30,000 | 10,000 | 250,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 3,000 | 2,000 | 6,500 | 12,000 | 6,500 | 72,000 |
| $1 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,192,500 | 1,171,000 | 5,354,000 | 293,000 | 14,172,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,700 | 2,800 | 12,400 | 2,600 | 15,000 |
