Gold retreated Thursday as the U.S. dollar advanced. The precious metal logged a modest gain in the prior session but is still poised to fall by more than 1% on the week without a turnaround on Friday.
Gold for December delivery shed $3.80, or 0.3%, to close at $1,266.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session moderately lower Thursday. The yellow metal saw selling pressure develop during the session as the U.S. dollar index pushed sharply higher and hit a 13-month high," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "The gold-bullish elements of the interest rate cut and quantitative easing announcement from the European Central Bank Thursday were offset by the surging greenback."
Gold ranged from a low of $1,265.50 to a high of $1,279.20. Gold prices in the prior session climbed $5.30, or 0.4%.
Silver for December delivery lost 5 cents, or 0.3%, to end at $19.14 an ounce. Silver prices traded from $19.09 to $19.39. They rose in the previous session by 4 cents, or 0.2%.
In PGM futures on Thursday:
-
October platinum declined $4.20, or 0.3%, to $1,408.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,404.90 to $1,417.30.
- Palladium for December delivery jumped $15.05, or 1.7%, to $891 an ounce, trading between $873.15 and $891.70.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals were mostly higher. When comparing London bullion Fix prices and the LBMA Silver Price from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $6, or 0.5%, to $1,271.50 an ounce,
- Silver gained 11 cents, or 0.6%, to $19.21,
- Platinum declined $2, or 0.1%, to $1,406 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $11, or 1.3%, to $885 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in August
United States Mint bullion coins entered the sales charts on Thursday and for the first time in September. Sales gain included:
- 100 ounces of Platinum Eagles;
- 10,500 ounces of Gold Eagles;
- 2,500 ounces of Gold Buffalos; and
- 240,000 ounces of Silver Eagles.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold on Thursday, last week, last month and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday & Current Week | Sales Last Week | August Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 100 | 0 | 700 | 13,700 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 8,500 | 5,000 | 21,000 | 254,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 3,000 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 84,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 5,000 | 0 | 25,000 | 415,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 2,500 | 1,500 | 8,000 | 127,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 240,000 | 397,500 | 2,007,500 | 28,351,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29,500 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 500 | 20,500 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,200 | 1,200 | 21,200 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 7,500 | 7,500 | 7,500 |
