Gold futures on Thursday ended lower for the first time in six sessions and away from an almost four-week high.
Gold for December delivery gave back $8, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,115.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"A corrective, profit-taking pullback was featured after decent gains were scored earlier this week," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Also, safe-haven gold was dented as world markets were calmer Thursday and showed much less risk aversion than the previous two days."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,112.80 to a high of $1,126.30. Since Friday, they have advanced $21.50 or 2%.
Silver for September delivery shed 8 cents, or 0.5%, to close at $15.40 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $15.27 and $15.56. They gained 19 cents on Wednesday, slipped by less than a penny on Tuesday and soared 47 cents on Monday. The white metal is up 3.9% since Friday.
In rounding out the precious metals futures complex:
-
October platinum dipped $4.90, or 0.5%, to $995 an ounce, ranging from $988.60 to $1,003.10.
- Palladium for September delivery lost $7.40, or 1.2%, to $615.70 an ounce, trading between $613.10 and $626.50.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices also declined. In comparing London bullion prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold fell $2.25, or 0.2%, to $1,116.75 an ounce.
- Silver fell 3 cents, or 0.2%, to $15.33 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight after the setting of the prices each day.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in August
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Thursday as of 3:01 p.m. Eastern Time. Sales of the agency’s American Silver Eagles are expected to be muted until Monday. This past Monday, the Mint said it had set this week’s allocation of Silver Eagles to 1 million coins. That level was reached on Wednesday.
Below is a listing of U.S. Mint bullion products with 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 | This Week | July Sales | August Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 144,500 | 6,000 | 349,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 10,000 | 1,000 | 47,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 28,000 | 6,000 | 104,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 135,000 | 15,000 | 540,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 2,500 | 32,000 | 3,500 | 132,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,180,000 | 1,000,000 | 5,529,000 | 2,180,000 | 29,495,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 35,000 | ||||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 42,000 | ||||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 10,000 | – | 45,000 | ||
