Gold extended its losing streak to five sessions Thursday and settled at a 2-month low as the U.S. dollar rallied to an 11-month high.
Gold for December delivery declined $19.80, or 1.5%, to close at $1,275.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The market is digesting the likelihood of the Fed raising rates," Tim Evans, the chief market strategist at Long Leaf Trading Group Inc. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "That’s very dollar-bullish, and it’s creating a lot of pressure on dollar-denominated assets, especially gold."
Gold prices ranged from an intraday low of $1,273.40 to a high of $1,292.
Silver for September delivery gave back 8 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $19.42 an ounce after gaining 9 cents in the previous session. Silver prices traded from $19.29 to $19.48.
In PGM futures on Thursday:
-
October platinum shed $9.90, or 0.7%, to $1,419.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,414 to $1,431.50.
- Palladium for September delivery advanced $11.45, or 1.3%, to $879.90 an ounce, trading between $865.00 and $880.25.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals moved in the same direction as New York bullion futures. When contrasting London bullion Fix prices and the LBMA Silver Price from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold turned down $19.75, or 1.5%, to $1,275.25 an ounce,
- Silver shed 2 cents, or 0.1%, to $19.40,
- Platinum declined $9, or 0.6%, to $1,419 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $9, or 1%, to $877 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in August
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged Thursday as of 3:09 PM 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 | 400 | 300 | 0 | 700 | 13,600 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 26,000 | 15,000 | 239,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 80,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 25,000 | 20,000 | 405,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 500 | 1,500 | 5,500 | 6,000 | 123,000 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 225,000 | 430,000 | 1,975,000 | 1,610,000 | 27,713,500 |
| 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 |
