Precious metals futures moved higher Thursday, extending gains from Wednesday and on the heels of the Fed’s announcement to raise interest rates.
Gold for February delivery advanced $8.50, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,257.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close is the highest since Dec. 6.
Gold prices saw "important follow-through strength from Wednesday afternoon’s gains," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily bullion report. "If gold and silver can hold this week’s gains and see some more price upside on Friday, to produce bullish weekly high closes, then such would suggest near-term market bottoms are in place."
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,252.80 to a high of $1,261.60. They gained 0.6% on Wednesday, fell 0.4% on Tuesday — ending at their lowest level since July 17, and dipped 0.1% on Monday.
Elsewhere, silver for March delivery rose 6.5 cents, or 0.4%, to finish at $15.934 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $15.85 to $16.15. They moved up by 1.3% on Wednesday, fell 0.7% on Tuesday — closing at their weakest price since July 10, and declined 0.2% in their start to the week on Monday.
In other precious metals on Thursday:
-
January platinum gained $5.80, 0.7%, to $881.20 an ounce, trading between $879.70 and $890.50.
- Palladium for March delivery rallied $24.65, or 2.5%, to $1,028.70 an ounce, ranging from $995.05 to $1,012.40. The close is the strongest since February 2001.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold added $8.35, or 0.7%, to 1,251 an ounce.
- Silver added 30.5 cents, or 1.9%, to $16.01 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 2:55 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 | 0 | 28,000 | 9,500 | 28,000 | 218,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 37,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 64,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 10,000 | 25,000 | 395,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 10,500 | 2,000 | 11,500 | 97,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 120,000 | 622,000 | 385,000 | 742,000 | 18,065,500 |
| 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 |
