Precious metals futures were mixed Thursday with gold, silver and platinum posting a third day of gains while platinum declined for the first time in eight sessions. Gold and silver closed at two-week highs.
Gold for December delivery gained $6.70, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,341.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since July 13.
"A perceived dovish FOMC statement Wednesday afternoon and a lower U.S. dollar index worked to lift the precious metals markets," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a note.
"With the FOMC meeting out of the way, attention turns to the Bank of Japan meeting that began Thursday and ends Friday," Wyckoff added.
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,339.20 to a high of $1,352.60. They rose 0.5% on Wednesday and 0.1% on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, silver for September delivery added 19.7 cents, or 1%, to settle at $20.192 an ounce. The settlement is the highest since July 14. Silver futures ranged from $20.15 to $20.59. They moved up by 1.6% on Wednesday and by 0.2% on Tuesday.
In other precious metals futures trading:
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October platinum rose $10.70, or 1%, to $1,138.90 an ounce, trading between $1,137.20 and $1,160.
- Palladium for September delivery declined $5.25, or 0.8%, to $698.65 an ounce, ranging from $696.80 to $709.90.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold rose $12.75, or 1%, to $1,341.75 an ounce.
- Silver soared 83 cents, or 4.2%, to $20.41 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
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Thursday as of 3:20 p.m. ET. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | This Week | June Sales | July Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins | 0 | N/A | 18,400 | N/A | 18,400 | 18,400 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 7,000 | 3,500 | 62,500 | 26,000 | 432,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 48,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 96,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 15,000 | 20,000 | 70,000 | 45,000 | 550,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 3,5000 | 1,500 | 14,500 | 9,500 | 122,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 500,000 | 150,000 | 2,837,500 | 1,345,000 | 27,595,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34,200 | 0 | 34,200 |
