Precious metals advanced for a second straight session Thursday as the U.S. dollar retreated. Gold futures closed to a more than 14-week high while silver futures marked a fresh 3-month high.
Gold for April delivery gained $16.20, or 1.4%, to settle at $1,157.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the strongest since Oct. 28 when prices ended at $1,176.10 an ounce.
"Add the slumping U.S. dollar index to the list of bullish elements helping to drive gold and silver prices higher recently," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Safe-haven and technical buying continue to support the yellow metal amid volatile world stock markets that presently still have a downside bias."
Gold prices traded from a low of $1,139.70 to a high of $1,157.80. They advanced 1.3% in the prior session and are 3.7% higher on the week.
Silver for March delivery rose 11.6 cents, or 0.8%, to end at $14.85 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since Nov. 5 when prices ended at $14.98 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $14.65 to $14.93. They rallied 3.1% on Wednesday and are 4.3% higher on the week.
In other precious metals futures on Thursday:
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April platinum gained $26.20, or 3%, to $906.30 an ounce, trading between $880.30 and $907.90.
- Palladium for March delivery added a nickel, or less than 0.1%, to $515.60 an ounce, ranging from $506 to $517.85.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices also moved higher together for a second straight day. In comparing their levels from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $24.35, or 2.2%, to $1,156.35 an ounce.
- Silver added 33 cents, or 2.3%, to $14.74 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2016
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 3:48 p.m. ET. Sales of American Silver Eagles will not change until at least Monday with all of this week’s supply already ordered.
Below is a sales breakdown of United States Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Last Week | This Week / Feb | Jan Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 12,000 | 7,500 | 89,000 | 96,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 0 | 23,000 | 23,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 36,000 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 150,000 | 155,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 34,000 | 36,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 926,500 | 1,045,500 | 5,954,500 | 7,000,000 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | N/A | 41,800 | N/A | 41,800 |
