Gold settled lower for a fourth session in a row Thursday, finishing at a more than seven-month low. U.S. dollar strength continues to pressure. In earlier trade Thursday, the greenback hit a fresh six-year high against the yen.
Gold for December delivery declined $6.30, or 0.5%, to close at $1,239 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price was the lowest since gold ended at $1,238.60 an ounce on Jan. 22.
"It’s hard to get excited about gold in this current environment when the dollar is rising and the political tensions have eased," Scott Gardner, who helps manage $450 million at Verdmont Capital SA in Panama City, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "People don’t want gold when rates are expected to rise, while inflation has remained muted."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,235.30 to a high of $1,251.
Silver prices ended lower for the third time in four sessions. Silver for December delivery tumbled 33 cents, or 1.7%, to $18.60 an ounce, trading between $18.57 and $18.99. The bottom was the lowest since June 28, 2013, noted Bloomberg News. Prices inched up less than a penny in the prior session.
In PGM futures on Thursday:
-
October platinum lost $10.30, or 0.8%, to $1,370.70 an ounce, ranging from $1,368.10 to $1,384.40.
- Palladium for December delivery declined $15.85, or 1.9%, to $833.20 an ounce, trading between $830.60 and $854.35.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals were lower as well. In contrasting the London bullion Fix prices and the LBMA Silver Price from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold fell $9.75, or 0.8%, to $1,241.25 an ounce,
- Silver slid 31 cents, or 1.6%, to $18.70,
- Platinum shed $4, or 0.3%, to $1,378 an ounce, and
- Palladium declined $10, or 1.2%, to $846 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Thursday as of 2:43 PM ET. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold last week, this week so far, last month, this month so far, and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Sales Last Week | Current Week | August Sales | September Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 100 | 100 | 700 | 200 | 13,800 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 13,500 | 3,500 | 21,000 | 17,000 | 262,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 5,000 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 86,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 25,000 | 10,000 | 420,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 4,000 | 129,000 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 340,000 | 440,000 | 2,007,500 | 780,000 | 28,891,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 500 | 0 | 500 | 30,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 21,000 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,200 | 0 | 21,200 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,500 | 7,500 | 2,500 | 10,000 |
