Precious metals futures were mostly lower Thursday. Silver advanced its losing streak to seven straight sessions, ending at a new 21-week low. Gold, meanwhile, settled at a 19-week low.
Gold for February delivery dropped $13, or 1%, to finish at $1,253.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the weakest since July 26 when the yellow metal ended at $1,249.40 an ounce.
"Scant risk aversion in the marketplace recently has emboldened the sellers," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "A rebound in the U.S. dollar index this week is also working against the precious metals market bulls."
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,247.60 to a high of $1,266.80. They rose 0.1% on Wednesday, declined 1% on Tuesday, and slipped 0.4% in starting the week on Monday.
Silver for March delivery declined 15.3 cents, or 1%, to close at $15.802 an ounce. The settlement is the lowest since July 13 when prices ended at $15.691 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $15.76 to $16. They slipped 0.7% in the previous session, dropped 1.9% on Tuesday, and lost about 0.1% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices:
-
January platinum lost $8.30, or 0.9%, to $894.50 an ounce, trading between $893 and $904.
- Palladium for March delivery advanced $16, or 1.6%, to $1,002.95 an ounce, ranging from $985 to $1,011.90.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold fell $8.70, or 0.7%, to 1,255 an ounce.
- Silver declined 20.5 cents, or 1.3%, to $15.91 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 3:41 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 | November | December | 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 | 0 | 0 | 15,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 0 | 9,500 | 0 | 190,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 34,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 60,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 380,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 86,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 90,000 | 110,000 | 385,000 | 110,000 | 17,433,500 |
| 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 |
| 2017 George Rogers Clark 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32,400 | 0 | 32,400 |
What is the sales total so far on the Ellis Island P mint 5 oz coin? The mint shows it as “unavailable.