Precious metals futures ended mostly lower Thursday. Gold led declines, ending at its weakest price in more than eleven weeks.
Gold for December delivery dropped $9.40, or a bit above 0.7%, to finish at $1,269.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the lowest since Aug. 8 when prices ended at $1,262.60 an ounce. Gold has seen pressure from higher stocks and a stronger U.S. dollar, opined analysts.
"Stocks are at extremely high levels in the U.S., but I think Europe is going to start playing catch-up," Reuters quoted Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada. "I’m bearish on gold while we remain below $1,300."
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,273.60 to a high of $1,283.80. They edged up 70 cents on Wednesday, lost 0.2% on Tuesday, and climbed 40 cents in their start to the week on Monday
Ending down for a fifth straight session, silver for December delivery fell 11.4 cents, or nearly 0.7%, to $16.811 an ounce. The close is the weakest since Oct. 6 when silver ended at $16.79 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $16.88 to $17.05. They shed 0.2% in the previous session, lost 0.6% on Tuesday, and dipped less than a half cent on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices:
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January platinum moved down $4.60, or 0.5%, to $922.10 an ounce, trading between $919.50 and $930.30.
- Palladium for December delivery gained $10, or 1%, to $968.10 an ounce, ranging from $956.75 to $969.25.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $1.25, or 0.1%, to 1,273.75 an ounce.
- Silver rose 8 cents, or 0.5%, to $16.97 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 advanced by 75,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles and by 1,000 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 | 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 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 10,000 | 180,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 58,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 25,000 | 25,000 | 355,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 2,500 | 1,000 | 1,500 | 5,500 | 82,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 75,000 | 450,000 | 250,000 | 320,000 | 1,000,000 | 16,898,500 |
| 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 |
This article was edited to include updated U.S. Mint bullion figures.
