Precious metals futures declined again Thursday, with gold extending its losing streak to eight straight sessions and closing at a more than five-week low. Silver, meanwhile, dropped for a third session in a row and finished at a six-week low.
Gold for April delivery shed $6.20, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,203.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the lowest since Jan. 30.
"If the (non-farm payroll) data does come in better than market expectations, it will drag gold prices further," Reuters quoted OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan. "But with fund futures fully pricing in the rate hike story, I’d presume gold will just be supported at the $1,200 handle into next week."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,201.20 to a high of $1,208.90. Prices have sunk $55.60, or 4.4%, since Feb. 27 when they last ended up and scored a 3-1/2-month high.
Elsewhere, silver for May delivery dropped 26.2 cents, or 1.5%, to finish at $17.036 an ounce. The settlement is the weakest since Jan. 26. Silver futures traded between $16.98 and $17.31. They fell 1.4% on Wednesday, lost 1.3% on Tuesday and climbed 0.2% on Monday.
In other precious metals dealings:
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April platinum declined $12.30, or 1.3%, to $937.20 an ounce, ranging from $936.20 to $954.10.
- Palladium for June delivery tumbled $22.35, or 2.9%, to $748.05 an ounce, trading between $746.95 and $771.65.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $2.65, or 0.2%, to $1,206.55 an ounce.
- Silver declined 26 cents, or 1.5%, to $17.14 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. 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 | Feb Sales | Mar Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 3,500 | 21,000 | 3,500 | 111,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 24,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 40,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 15,000 | 10,000 | 30,000 | 10,000 | 165,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 500 | 15,000 | 500 | 47,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 450,000 | 280,000 | 1,215,000 | 280,000 | 6,622,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 200 | 0 | 19,500 | 0 | 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 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | |||||
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
