Gold and silver futures extended their winning streaks on Thursday to four sessions in a row. Gold settled at its best price in 7 weeks while silver notched a fresh, more than 11-month high.
Gold for June delivery tacked on $16, or 1.3%, to end at $1,266.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since March 10 when gold closed at $1,272.80 an ounce.
"The yellow metal was supported on safe-haven demand as world markets were unsettled by Japan’s central bank surprisingly taking no action at its monetary policy meeting," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily market report. "Gold and silver bulls are also having a good week from a technical perspective, which has invited fresh chart-based buying in both metals."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,239.10 to a high of $1,262.90. For the week so far, they are 2.6% higher.
Silver for May delivery jumped 29.9 cents, or 1.7%, to close at $17.588 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since May 18, when prices ended at $17.732 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $17.18 and $17.46. They are 7.8% higher so far this week.
In other precious metals futures on Thursday:
-
July platinum advanced $25.30, or 2.5%, to $1,050.70 an ounce, ranging from $1,019.70 to $1,046.
- Palladium for June delivery gained $14.70, or 2.4%, to $624.35 an ounce, trading between $608.10 and $618.85.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $8.60, or 0.7%, to $1,256 an ounce.
- Silver added a penny, or less than 0.1%, to $17.35 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged Thursday as of 3:24 p.m. Eastern Time, but they did increase later on Wednesday with gold coins up 7,000 ounces and silver coins up 25,000 ounces.
The U.S. Mint this week allocated sales of American Silver Eagles to 1,087,500 coins, which includes 87,500 coins from last week. Distributors order 92.1% through Wednesday. 2016 Silver Eagles are at a record sales pace of 18,914,500 coins, marking a 26.8% increase over the same time in record year 2015.
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 Sales | Wednesday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Mar Sales | Apr Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 5,500 | 30,000 | 15,500 | 29,000 | 93,500 | 279,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 6,000 | 36,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 14,000 | 66,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 75,000 | 55,000 | 375,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 500 | 4,000 | 3,500 | 7,000 | 19,500 | 79,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 25,000 | 912,500 | 1,002,000 | 4,106,000 | 4,072,000 | 18,914,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 64,000 | 0 | 0 | 64,000 | 64,000 |
Mike Unser –
Were you able to purchase any gold Winged Liberty Head dimes on first day of issue? Do you have photos to share of your coins?
Thanks!
-NumisDudeTX