Gold and silver futures declined Thursday, hitting fresh lows. Gold closed at its lowest level in 5-3/4-years while silver finished at its weakest price in 11 weeks.
Down for second straight session, gold for December delivery shed $3.90, or 0.4%, to close at $1,081 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Feb. 10, 2010 when prices ended at $1,076.30 an ounce.
"The new-found weakness is about the massive quick changes we’ve had in the probability of Fed tightening," Bloomberg News quoted Jim Paulsen, who helps oversee $345 billion as chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management in San Francisco. "It directly affects competitive returns. Higher rates also raise the probability of slower growth and a stronger dollar, which are negative for commodities."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,073 to a high of $1,089. They are 0.6% lower on the week.
Extending its losing streak to nine sessions, silver for December delivery fell 4 cents, or 0.3%, to $14.23 an ounce. The close was the lowest since Aug. 26 when the settlement was $14.04 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $14.16 to $14.47. They are 3.2% lower than Friday.
In rounding out the precious metals futures complex:
-
January platinum declined $6.20, or 0.7%, to $876.90 an ounce, trading between $874.20 and $888.80.
- Palladium for December delivery tumbled $18.30, or 3.2%, to $558.70 an ounce, ranging from $557.65 to $583.35.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices changed modestly. In comparing their prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $1.50, or 0.1%, to $1,087.40 an ounce.
- Silver shed a nickel, or 0.4%, to $14.39 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales
Sales of U.S. Mint gold coins jumped Thursday with 12,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 2,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins. Their single-day combined total of 14,000 ounces is higher than weekly gains since the week ended Oct. 9.
The U.S. Mint limited American Silver Eagle sales this week to 1,107,500 coins. Buyers have claimed 91.8% of them so far, leaving 91,000 left until more are allocated next week.
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 | Oct Sales | Nov Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 11,000 | 4,500 | 19,500 | 26,000 | 24,000 | 570,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 0 | 1,000 | 4,000 | 1,000 | 68,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 152,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 5,000 | 30,000 | 15,000 | 50,000 | 45,000 | 925,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 4,500 | 3,500 | 10,500 | 8,000 | 189,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,079,500 | 1,016,500 | 3,788,000 | 2,096,000 | 41,938,500 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | Sold Out | 35,000 | ||||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 42,000 | |||||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 45,000 | |||||
| 2015 Bombay Hook 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 45,000 | |||||
