Gold edged higher for a second session in a row Thursday, gaining little traction from a losing streak that extended to five straight sessions on Tuesday.
Gold for February delivery added 30 cents to settle at $1,194.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"We have seen the safe-haven premium come off after equities surged this morning," Phil Streible, a senior commodity broker at R.J. O’Brien & Associates in Chicago, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News.
U.S. stocks surged Wednesday with the S&P 500 up 1.6%, the Dow up 1.7% and the Nasdaq up 1.8%.
Gold prices ranged from an intraday low of $1,188.50 to a high of $1,213.90. They rose 20 cents on Wednesday. Gold has slipped 2.3% since Friday.
Silver also logged modest gains with the March contract up less than a penny to $15.93 an ounce. Prices ranged from $15.74 to $16.23. Silver advanced 18 cents in the previous session. Silver prices have tumbled 6.6% since Friday.
In PGM futures on Thursday:
-
January platinum lost $2.40, or 0.2%, to $1,197.10 an ounce, trading between $1,193.10 and $1,214.90.
- Palladium for March delivery settled up $12.90, or 1.7%, to $792.15 an ounce, ranging from $778.30 to $795.30.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals moved higher. When comparing London bullion Fix prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $3.25, or 0.3%, to $1,199 an ounce,
- Silver rose 13 cents, or 0.8%, to $16.08 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $3, or 0.2%, to $1,205 an ounce, and
- Palladium climbed $4, or 0.5%, to $791 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in December
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Thursday as of 3:40 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, 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 | Current 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 | 0 | 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 | 0 | 0 | 12,000 | 6,000 | 118,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 | 30,000 | 560,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,500 | 2,500 | 175,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 901,000 | 235,500 | 3,426,000 | 1,958,000 | 43,505,000 |
| 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 | 500 | 900 | 1,100 | 24,400 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22,000 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 800 | 1,400 | 1,700 | 4,000 | 21,900 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27,000 | 7,000 | 34,000 |
