Precious metals futures declined Thursday. Gold’s loss was its first in six sessions, with prices sliding from a more than four-month high.
Gold for February delivery dropped $12, or 0.9%, to settle at $1,327.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold is due a correction after its $100 rally" since the Federal Reserve lifted a key U.S. interest rate in mid-December, MarketWatch quoted Mark O’Byrne, research director at GoldCore. "A near 8% gain in a month is quite a move up in a short period of time and ordinarily one would expect a correction."
Gold futures traded between $1,324.30 and $1,333.30. They climbed 0.2% on Wednesday — ending at their strongest price since Sept. 8, and also rose 0.2% in their start to the trading week on Tuesday.
Silver for March delivery declined 21.2 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $16.954 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $16.91 to $17.14. They dipped 0.1% on Wednesday and ended 0.3% higher on Tuesday.
In other precious metals futures prices:
-
April platinum declined $3.70, or 0.4%, to $1,007.20 an ounce, trading between $1,001 and $1,012.30.
- Palladium for March delivery lost $16.40, or 1.5%, to $1,093.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,091.35 to $1,111.70. They closed at an all-time high on Wednesday.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $3.45, or 0.3%, to $1,332.20 an ounce.
- Silver fell 12 cents, or 0.7%, to $17.09 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Thursday. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Last Week | This Week | December | 2017 Sales | 2018 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 27,000 | 2,500 | 38,000 | 228,500 | 29,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 12,000 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 37,000 | 14,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 24,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 64,000 | 24,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 60,000 | 5,000 | 25,000 | 395,000 | 65,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 18,500 | 2,000 | 14,000 | 99,500 | 20,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 2,520,000 | 250,000 | 742,000 | 18,065,500 | 2,770,000 |
