Precious metals futures sank Thursday as the dollar rallied and expectations increased for a U.S. rate hike. Gold logged a third straight loss while silver fell from a 16-week high and snapped a five-session advance.
Gold for April delivery declined $17.10, or 1.4%, to settle at $1,232.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The loss was their largest for a day this year.
"The combined factors of Donald Trump’s positive address in the Congress and the Fed-led dollar momentum has given a two-part blow to the commodity," MarketWatch quoted Mihir Kapadia, CEO and founder of Sun Global Investments, a London-based financial services firm.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,231.10 to a high of $1,250.80. The precious metal has dropped nearly $30, or 2.1%, since scoring a 3-1/2-month high when it last ended up on Monday.
Silver for May delivery tumbled 74.1 cents, or 4%, to close at $17.748 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.70 and $18.48. On Wednesday, they ended at their best price since Nov. 10.
In rounding out precious metals prices:
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April platinum fell $29, or 2.9%, to $989.90 an ounce, ranging from $983.50 to $1,020.50.
- Palladium for June delivery declined $9.25, or 1.2%, to $769.75 an ounce, trading between $766.10 and $777.0.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM
- Gold declined $2.30, or 0.2%, to $1,238.10 an ounce.
- Silver was unchanged at $18.33 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 were unchanged as of 3:31 p.m. ET. This article will be updated if new figures become available by the end of the day.
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 / Mar Sales | Last Week | This Week | Feb Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 3,000 | 1,500 | 21,000 | 107,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 24,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 40,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 30,000 | 155,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 500 | 15,000 | 47,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 155,000 | 450,000 | 1,215,000 | 6,342,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 600 | 200 | 19,500 | 19,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | ||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | ||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | – | |||
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
