Gold continued its back and forth daily shifts on Thursday, falling slightly after advancing in the prior session yet hanging firmly above $1,200 an ounce.
Gold for February delivery shed a dollar, or less than 0.1%, to close at $1,207.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The market is extremely nervous. A lack of direction is keeping everyone on their toes (with) Monday still very fresh in everyone’s minds," Reuters quoted Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at MKS in Switzerland.
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,201.10 to a high of $1,213.50. On Wednesday, they advanced $9.30. Prices on Tuesday tumbled $18.70 after soaring $42.60 on Monday.
Snapping a two-session losing streak, silver for March delivery tacked on 16 cents, or 1%, to $16.58 an ounce. Prices ranged from $16.38 to $16.68. On Wednesday, silver shed 0.3%.
In PGM futures on Thursday:
-
January platinum advanced $18.40, or 1.5%, to $1,245.90 an ounce, trading between $1,223.20 and $1,246.40.
- Palladium for March delivery rose $4.60, or 0.6%, to $802.15 an ounce, ranging from $795.80 to $807.60.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals were mixed. In contrasting London bullion Fix prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold rose $4.25, or 0.4%, to $1,209 an ounce,
- Silver gained 12 cents, or 0.7%, to $16.42 an ounce,
- Platinum jumped $16, or 1.3%, to $1,239 an ounce, and
- Palladium declined $6, or 0.7%, to $798 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in December
United States Mint bullion sales included 1,500 ounces in gold coins — 500 in Gold Eagles and 1,000 in Gold Buffalos. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold on Thursday, last week, this week, last month, and the year to date. Coins with an asterisk (*) have sold out.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | Current Week / Month | November Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,700 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 7,500 | 12,000 | 49,000 | 414,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 0 | 8,000 | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 12,000 | 116,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 5,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 40,000 | 550,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 1,000 | 1,500 | 1,500 | 12,500 | 174,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 736,500 | 662,500 | 3,426,000 | 42,209,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 300 | 900 | 23,600 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22,000 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 1,200 | 1,700 | 19,100 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 7,000 | 27,000 | 34,000 |
