Gold prices ended lower Thursday, as did silver and that snapped its four-session win streak.
Gold for April delivery slid $1.80, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,262.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Buying interest in the safe-haven gold market was limited by an improving investor risk appetite the past couple days, evidenced by the rallies in U.S. stock indexes," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "However, sellers were leery Thursday due to bullish ‘outside market’ forces — a lower U.S. dollar index and sharply higher crude oil prices."
Gold traded from a low of $1,256.10 to a high of $1,274.60. Prices on Wednesday picked up $4.20, or 0.3%.
Silver for March delivery fell 20 cents, or 1.1%, to end at $17.20 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $16.92 to $17.50.
In PGM futures on Thursday:
-
April platinum gained $10.80, or 0.9%, to $1,249.70 an ounce, trading between $1,230.20 and $1,256.90.
- Palladium for March delivery added $5.50, or 0.7%, to $795.70 an ounce, ranging from $784.90 to $797.10.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals declined. In comparing London bullion Fix prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold lost $9.25, or 0.7%, to $1,259.25 an ounce,
- Silver tumbled 39 cents, or 2.2%, to $17 an ounce,
- Platinum dipped $3, or 0.2%, to $1,235 an ounce, and
- Palladium declined $4, or 0.5%, to $788 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in February
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Thursday as of 4:10 PM ET. Below are sales of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold last week, this week so far, in January, and the year-to-date. Coins with an asterisk (*) have sold out for 2014 with 2015-dated versions yet to be released.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | This Week | January Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 51,500 | 53,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36,000 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 15,000 | 5,000 | 115,000 | 120,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 34,500 | 35,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 769,500 | 610,500 | 5,530,000 | 6,140,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 600 | 600 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
