Gold advanced for the third time in four sessions on Thursday, positioning itself for a slight weekly increase.
Gold for June delivery gained $6.90, or 0.5%, to close at $1,295 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices ranged from a low of $1,290.10 to a high of $1,304.10.
"Gold traders are finding the shining metal attractive after India, which is the second biggest consumer of gold, has backed off from some of their import rules," MarketWatch quoted Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade. "We do know that there is a wedding season in India and relaxing these import rules will break the premium price for the metal in the country, which could lift up the demand."
Gold prices have inched up $1.60, or 0.1%, since Friday. Gold’s single down session on the week thus far happened on Wednesday when prices slipped $6.50, or 0.5%.
Silver has tracked gold this week, also up for the third of four sessions. Silver for July delivery tacked on 18 cents, or 0.9%, to $19.52 an ounce, trading between $19.36 and $19.83.
In PGM’s, platinum rose for a second day and palladium notched a fifth session of gains. In their breakdowns:
-
July platinum rose $18.20, or 1.2%, to $1,493.10 an ounce, ranging from $1,472.50 to $1,497.80.
- Palladium for June delivery added $6, or 0.7%, to $836.45 an ounce, trading between $827.30 and $839.55.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals also advanced. In contrasting the London fix bullion prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $11.25, or 0.9%, to $1,298.50 an ounce,
- Silver gained 25 cents, or 1.3%, to $19.56 an ounce,
- Platinum climbed $18, or 1.2%, to $1,492 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $9, or 1.1%, to $837 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales
U.S. Mint bullion coin totals were unchanged for a second day. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold last week, this week so far, last month, the month so far, and the year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Sales Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | April Sales | May Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 100 | 300 | 1,200 | 1,000 | 12,200 |
| $50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 6,000 | 26,000 | 17,500 | 144,000 |
| $25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 0 | 5,000 | 3,000 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 6,000 | 68,000 |
| $5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 55,000 | 30,000 | 320,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,500 | 2,500 | 17,500 | 8,500 | 91,500 |
| $1 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 918,000 | 300,000 | 3,569,500 | 3,562,000 | 21,010,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 500 | 10,600 | 4,000 | 27,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 200 | N/A | 17,400 | 17,400 |
