Gold prices slipped for a second straight session on Thursday but rallying gains on Tuesday still have the precious metal poised for a strong weekly increase.
Gold for February delivery settled down $3.80, or 0.3%, to $1,225.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Riskier appetites were in play Wednesday with U.S. stocks rising for the first time this week after retail sales climbed higher than expected.
"It is good that gold is able to stay above $1,200 despite another slump in oil prices. But it is a little bit concerning we haven’t been able to build on it with the dollar weakening quite a bit," Reuters quoted a Hong Kong-based precious metals trader. "If we stay near $1,230 for a while without making any progress, it might turn out to be bearish."
Gold traded between $1,216.70 and $1,233.40. Prices on Wednesday dipped 0.2% after soaring 3.1% on Tuesday and scoring a more than six-week high. Gold is up 3% on the week so far.
In rounding out the precious metals complex:
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Silver for March delivery lost 8 cents, or 0.4%, to $17.11 an ounce, ranging from $16.95 to $17.24.
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January platinum dipped 40 cents to $1,242.20 an ounce, trading between $1,231.30 and $1,252.50.
- Palladium for March delivery fell $1.80, or 0.2%, to $819.60 an ounce, ranging from $813.80 to $820.10.
In the prior session, silver added 0.3%, platinum shed 0.3% and palladium advanced 1.2%.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals were mixed for a second day. In comparing London bullion Fix prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $12.75, or 1%, to $1,216.25 an ounce,
- Silver fell 8 cents, or 0.5%, to $16.98 an ounce,
- Platinum lost $11, or 0.9%, to $1,230 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $2, or 0.2%, to $817 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in December
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Thursday as of 3:03 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, in December, and the year to date. Coins with an asterisk (*) have sold out.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | This Week | November Sales | December Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,900 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 12,000 | 0 | 49,000 | 12,000 | 414,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 0 | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 0 | 12,000 | 6,000 | 118,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 30,000 | 0 | 40,000 | 30,000 | 560,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,500 | 0 | 12,500 | 2,500 | 175,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 821,500 | 682,500 | 3,426,000 | 1,504,000 | 43,051,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 300 | 300 | 900 | 600 | 23,900 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22,000 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,800 | 800 | 1,700 | 2,600 | 20,500 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 7,000 | 0 | 27,000 | 7,000 | 34,000 |
