Gold prices closed higher for a third consecutive session on Thursday, logging yet another day of modest change.
Gold for December delivery added $1.20, or less than 0.1%, to finish at $1,315.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"We still believe it will take a significant macro event for the market to establish a new trend while in the longer run we prefer a downside break out," MarketWatch quoted Andrey Kryuchenkov, strategist at VTB Capital in London. "In the meantime, in the absence of notable physical demand or renewed safe haven inflows the market is set to continue its current sideways pattern at the end of this week."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,310 to a high of $1,321.80. The precious metal has changed slightly throughout this week, rising the most on Wednesday by $3.90, gaining 10 cents on Tuesday and dipping 50 cents on Monday.
Silver rose for the first time in three day. Silver for September delivery added 6 cents, or 0.3%, to finish at $19.91 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $19.79 and $19.99. The precious metal slipped 6 cents on Wednesday, declined 19 cents on Tuesday, and gained 15 cents on Monday.
In PGM futures on Thursday:
-
October platinum lost 70 cents to $1,469.20 an ounce, ranging from $1,465.20 to $1,475.
- Palladium for September delivery rose $4.55, or 0.5%, to $886.15 an ounce, trading between $877.65 and $887.25.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals were mixed. In contrasting the London bullion fix prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $1.50, or 0.1%, to $1,313.50 an ounce,
- Silver shed 4 cents, or 0.2%, $19.86 an ounce,
- Platinum turned down $3, or 0.2%, to $1,468 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $1, or 0.1%, to $882 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in August
United States Mint sales totals were unchanged Thursday as of 3:50 ET. 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 | Current Sales Week | July Sales | August Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 400 | 0 | 400 | 13,300 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 1,500 | 26,000 | 11,500 | 236,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 80,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 15,000 | 5,000 | 25,000 | 20,000 | 405,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 500 | 5,500 | 4,500 | 121,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 955,000 | 225,000 | 1,975,000 | 1,180,000 | 27,283,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 500 | 0 | 29,500 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 0 | 20,000 |
