Precious metals settled lower Thursday as the U.S. dollar rebounded. Gold’s loss was its third in four days.
Gold for June delivery declined $4.30, or 0.3%, to close at $1,271.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The weakness in gold which we’re experiencing today is mainly due to the strength in the dollar, and also we’re approaching close to a very important level of $1,300," Reuters quoted Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Forex.
Gold prices traded from a low of $1,266.80 to a high of $1,282.50. They gained 0.9% in the prior session.
Lower for the first time in three days, silver for July delivery shed 21.6 cents, or 1.3%, to end at $17.103 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $17.03 to $17.49. They advanced 1.3% on Wednesday.
In rounding out precious metals trading on Thursday:
-
July platinum fell $12.10, or 1.1%, to $1,054 an ounce, trading between $1,050.40 and $1,072.
- Palladium for June delivery dropped $11.40, or 1.9%, to $596.65 an ounce, ranging from $593.80 to $613.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $2.40, or 0.2%, to $1,279.25 an ounce.
- Silver declined 28 cents, or 1.6%, to $17.23 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 advanced for the first time this week, figures from the agency’s website show. Gains included 12,500 ounces in gold coins and 972,500 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
The U.S. Mint this week allocated sales of American Silver Eagles to 1 million coins. Distributors order 97.3% of them on Thursday. 2016 Silver Eagles are at a record sales pace of 20,972,500 coins, representing a 31.2% 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 / This Week | Last Week | Mar Sales | Apr Sales | May Sale | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 9,000 | 11,000 | 29,000 | 93,500 | 20,000 | 299,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 1,000 | 6,000 | 3,000 | 39,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 14,000 | 0 | 66,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 75,000 | 55,000 | 10,000 | 385,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 3,500 | 6,500 | 7,000 | 19,500 | 10,000 | 89,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 972,500 | 1,085,500 | 4,106,000 | 4,072,000 | 2,058,000 | 20,972,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64,000 | 0 | 64,000 |
