Gold and silver closed lower for the fourth time in five sessions on Thursday. The precious metals split on the week with gold nearly unchanged and silver down by more than 2%. In observance of Good Friday, most U.S. markets will close on Friday.
On the day, gold for June delivery shed $7.30, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,200.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices edged up $1.10, or less than 0.1%, from last Friday.
"With the major markets set to be shut when non-farms is released Friday, [Wednesday’s] ADP report took its place, helping drive short-covering in gold," MarketWatch quoted Adrian Ash, head of research at BullionVault. "Only a real surprise in the official [non-farm payrolls] will see any swings at the start of Asian trade Sunday night."
On Wednesday, private payroll processor ADP reported that businesses added 189,000 jobs in March, well below economists’ expectations of around 225,000. As the U.S. dollar fell on the news, gold prices surged 2.1% for their biggest session increase since Jan. 15. The ADP number came ahead of the U.S. Labor Department’s more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
"The key non-farm payrolls number is expected to come in at up 248,000," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "U.S. markets are closed Friday for the Good Friday holiday. Thus, much of the market reaction to Friday’s jobs report is likely to be seen on Monday."
Silver for May delivery declined 36 cents, or 2.1%, to $16.70 an ounce, trading between $16.57 and $17. Silver prices rallied on Wednesday by 2.8%. Still, they dropped 2.2% on the week.
In PGM futures on Thursday:
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July platinum lost $11.50, or 1%, to $1,154.50 an ounce, ranging from $1,150.40 to $1,166.
- Palladium for June delivery slipped $2.55, or 0.3%, to $746.30 an ounce, trading between $740.60 and $754.95.
Compared to last Friday, platinum climbed 1.2% and palladium added 0.7%.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London precious metals ended higher or flat for the day. In comparing London bullion prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold gained $1.50, or 0.1%, to $1,198.50 an ounce,
- Silver added 28 cents, or 1.7%, to $16.84 an ounce,
- Platinum was unchanged at $1,142 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $10, or 1.3%, to $751 an ounce.
On the week, silver fell 1.8% while the other metals tallied gains of 0.2% for gold, and 0.4% for platinum and palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in April
United States Mint bullion products registered mixed performances this week with sales of gold coins markedly higher and silver coins lower. The latter was somewhat expected since Silver Eagle sales last week were the strongest since the week after the 2015-dated version launched in January. In the latest weekly bullion sales comparisons:
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Gold coins rose 10,000 ounces after gaining 5,500 ounces in the prior week. Splits were 7,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles compared to 5,000 ounces previously, and 2,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins compared to 500 ounces previously.
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Silver coins advanced 680,500 ounces after surging 877,000 ounces in the prior week. Splits were 675,500 ounces in American Silver Eagles compared to 847,500 ounces previously and 5,000 ounces in Homestead America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins compared to 30,000 ounces previously. The Homestead coin sold out on Tuesday.
U.S. Mint bullion sales rallied in March, with the last day of the month and the first quarter on Tuesday.
This listing of U.S. Mint bullion products show the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | March Sales | April Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 3,500 | 6,000 | 35,000 | 0 | 99,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 5,000 | 1,000 | 26,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 8,000 | 0 | 44,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 70,000 | 0 | 235,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 500 | 2,500 | 9,500 | 1,500 | 57,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 72,000 | 847,500 | 675,500 | 3,519,000 | 72,000 | 12,143,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 6,000 | 1,000 | 15,000 | – | 35,000 |
