Precious metals futures advanced in tandem for a second straight session Thursday as the U.S. dollar continued to show weakness. Gold and silver each notched about 14-week highs.
Gold for April delivery gained $8.50, or 0.7%, to close at $1,241.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since Nov. 10 when prices ended at $1,266.40 an ounce.
"The dollar is weaker, Treasury yields are down and stocks are lower," MarketWatch quoted Michael Armbruster, principal and co-founder at Altavest. "That is a nice trifecta for gold."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,233.30 to a high of $1,241.20. They advanced 0.6% on Wednesday and logged declines of less than 0.1% on Tuesday and 0.8% on Monday.
Ending higher for the fifth time in six sessions, silver for March delivery rose 11.1 cents, or 0.6%, to $18.074 an ounce. Like for gold, the settlement is the highest since Nov. 10. Silver futures traded between $17.93 and $18.14. They are 0.8% higher on the week.
In rounding out precious metals futures:
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April platinum moved up $5.80, or 0.6%, to $1,015.70 an ounce, ranging from $1,011.30 to $1,021.70.
- Palladium for March delivery gained $7.10, or 0.9%, to $793.30 an ounce, trading between $786.80 and $795.85.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $16.15, or 1.3%, to $1,240.55 an ounce.
- Silver added 22 cents, or 1.2%, to $18.10 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 2017
U.S. Mint bullion sales advanced by 500 ounces in American Gold Eagles and by 500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. 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 Sales | Last Week | This Week | Jan Sales | Feb Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 10,000 | 4,500 | 86,500 | 16,000 | 102,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 19,000 | 4,000 | 23,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36,000 | 0 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 125,000 | 15,000 | 140,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 5,000 | 4,500 | 32,000 | 12,000 | 44,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 250,000 | 310,000 | 5,127,500 | 560,000 | 5,687,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 17,700 | 0 | 100 | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | |||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | |||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | 800 | – | |||
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
This article was edited to include updates U.S. Mint sales figures.
