Gold and silver futures rebounded Thursday, advancing gains that began in after-hours trading Wednesday when minutes from the Fed’s last meeting were released. Gold ended at a more than two-week high while silver closed at its best level in over three weeks.
Gold for December delivery added $7.60, or 0.6%, to finish at $1,296.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since Sept. 26.
"Gold moved to within a whisker of the important $1,300.00 price level," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "The precious metals bulls are having a very good week, due to several factors that include safe-haven demand, a weakening U.S. dollar index, chart-based buying, and Federal Reserve members without a clear consensus on the inflation outlook."
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,291.80 to a high of $1,299.80. They slipped 0.4% on Wednesday, climbed 0.7% on Tuesday, and gained 0.8% on Monday.
Ending higher for the fifth time in six sessions, silver for December delivery tacked on 13.3 cents, or 0.8%, to close at $17.266 an ounce. The settlement is the strongest since Sept. 20. Silver futures ranged between $17.13 and $17.29. They slipped 0.4% on Wednesday, gained 1.4% on Tuesday, and climbed 1.1% in starting the week on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices:
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January platinum gained $8.60, or 0.9%, to $941.80 an ounce, ranging from $935.70 to $943.10.
- Palladium for December delivery advanced $14.75, or 1.5%, to $973.70 an ounce, trading between $955.55 and $984.75.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold rose $1, or less than 0.1%, to 1,290.25 an ounce.
- Silver rose 4.5 cents, or 0.3%, to $17.195 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 were unchanged as of 3:31 p.m. ET. 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 | September | October | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 0 | 15,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 3,000 | 8,000 | 5,500 | 175,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 56,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 25,000 | 5,000 | 335,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,500 | 2,000 | 78,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 150,000 | 150,000 | 320,000 | 300,000 | 16,198,500 |
| 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 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 |
