Gold futures drove higher for a fourth straight session Thursday, closing at a more than two-week high.
Gold for February delivery tacked $17.20, or 1.5%, to settle at $1,158.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since Dec. 14.
"A drop in the U.S. dollar index on this day prompted good short covering in the futures market and some bargain hunting in the cash market," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "If there is decent follow-through buying interest and a technically bullish weekly high close on Friday, such would be an early chart clue that the gold market has put in at least a near-term low, if not a major low."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,142.60 to a high of $1,160.60. They climbed 0.2% on Wednesday and gained 0.5% in their start Tuesday to the holiday-shortened trading week.
Ending higher for a third straight day after falling for three in a row, silver for March delivery rose 18 cents, or 1.1%, to $16.218 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $16.04 and $16.31. They are 2.9% higher so far this week.
In other precious metals dealings:
-
April platinum inched up 20 cents to $902.40 an ounce, ranging from $899.80 to $910.20.
- Palladium for March delivery rose $8.80, or 1.3%, to $675.65 an ounce, trading between $667.50 and $676.50.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $11.30, or 1%, to $1,145.90 an ounce.
- Silver added 21 cents, or 1.3%, to $16.06 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. The U.S. Mint’s most popular 2016-dated bullion coins sold out in early December. New 2017-dated coins launch on Jan. 9.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday / This Week | Last Week | Nov Sales | Dec Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins* | – | 20,000 | |||
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins* | – | 129,000 | 23,000 | 817,500 | |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 7,000 | 3,000 | 74,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins* | – | 18,000 | 2,000 | 152,000 | |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins* | – | 105,000 | 40,000 | 925,000 | |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,500 | 29,500 | 12,500 | 219,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 3,061,000 | 240,000 | 37,701,500 | |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 105,000 | |||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 75,000 | |||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 100 | 38,100 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 6,600 | 800 | 40,000 | |
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 27,800 | 0 | 27,800 |
Hello fellow collectors,
Now that the Presidential dollar program has ended, now is the time for the Mint to move the date back to the front of the Sacagawea dollar where it was designed to be. What good is a coin that you can only read the date and mint mark with a magnifier. I’m just say’in!!!