Gold and silver maintained losses Thursday that first began in after-hours trading Wednesday when the Federal Reserve signaled a December hike in interest rates. Both metals ended at four-week lows.
Gold for December delivery declined $21.60, or 1.6%, to settle at $1,294.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the lowest since Aug. 24.
"The precious metals markets were already in some trouble when a surprisingly hawkish tone on U.S. monetary policy was sounded by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday afternoon," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Gold and silver prices sank… on ideas U.S. monetary policy will significantly tighten in the coming months."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,291.20 to a high of $1,305. They are 2.3% lower so far this week.
Silver for December delivery lost 31.6 cents, or 1.8%, to finish at $17.018 an ounce. The settlement is also the lowest since Aug. 24. Silver futures traded between $16.86 and $17.23. They are down 3.9% on the week to date.
In other precious metals futures prices;
-
October platinum shed $5.50, or 0.6%, to $939.90 an ounce, trading between $931 and $945.40.
- Palladium for December delivery added $1.40, or 0.2%, to $911.55 an ounce, ranging from $904.15 to $918.40.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $19.20, or 1.5%, to 1,292.10 an ounce.
- Silver dropped 43 cents, or 2.5%, to $16.95 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
United States Mint bullion sales remained 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 | Last Week | This Week | August | September | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 6,500 | 6,000 | 168,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 29,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 56,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 15,000 | 5,000 | 15,000 | 20,000 | 325,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 1,500 | 76,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 1,025,000 | 125,000 | 15,703,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35,000 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ellis Island 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 | 0 | 40,000 |
