Precious metals futures were little changed Thursday. Silver and palladium rose slightly while gold and platinum declined modestly.
Gold for April delivery lost $5.90, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,321.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The stronger dollar is definitely a headwind for gold," Reuters quoted Walter Pehowich, executive vice president of investment services at Dillon Gage Metals. "Once it broke above the 90 level (vs the dollar index), gold came under significant pressure."
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,319.60 to a high of $1,329.80. They declined 0.6% on Wednesday, gained 1.2% on Tuesday — ending at their best level since Feb. 16, and fell 0.3% on Monday.
Silver for May delivery edged up about a half cent, or less than 0.1%, to end at $16.50 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $16.43 to $16.58. They dropped 1.7% on Wednesday, rallied 2.3% on Tuesday and declined 0.3% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Thursday:
-
April platinum shed 90 cents, or nearly 0.1%, to $952.30 an ounce, trading between $946.80 and $960.10.
- Palladium for June delivery gained $6.55, or 0.7%, to $965.60 an ounce, ranging from $958 to $983.90.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $8.40, or 0.6%, to $1,321 an ounce.
- Silver declined 16.5 cents, or 1%, to $16.48 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
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 3:02 p.m. ET. On Wednesday, American Gold Buffalo coins climbed by 1,000 ounces. Bullion sales were silent on Tuesday. On Monday, the U.S. Mint’s American Gold and Silver Eagles logged their first gains of the month.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Last Week | This Week / March | February | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,500 | 5,000 | 43,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 95,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 1,000 | 2,500 | 27,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 237,500 | 165,000 | 942,500 | 4,342,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
Ho, hum. What will Friday bring? Up or down? And how much?
Joe C.
Borrowing an observation that one might occasionally encounter these days on many comment sites in general, allow me to present that particular editorial gem as being ever more perfectly applicable to the excruciatingly tedious subject at hand, to wit, “Move along now. Nothing to see here.”
Old Collector
Amen Gentlemen!
The metals seem to be “lost” without definite direction very recently. Strange for sure.
-NumisdudeTX
the time is right , for buying sheets of *platinum! Easy for me to say; all i* can buy is some silver, i* gutter find broom=hillda,s stash of my cash! More than likely, she flew it, and stashed up witch mountain! I* need a black*hawk & a door*gunner! For when i* make a go for the cave, to get my* cash*back!*he*he*he*!*O!YAH!!!smile.
Joe Brown,
When you rush the cave, my humble advice would be to have Rambo on your right, Jack Reacher on your left, and The Punisher covering your six. Oscar Charlie actual, over and out.
Old Collector
Seth Riesling,
It seems that the very apt description “lost” applies to more than just the stagnant price of precious metals these days. In fact, it certainly feels like a lot more folks than Elvis have now “left the building”.
Old Collector & Trend Speculator
Golden Haiku
Dig me out of the
earth, make me shiny, stash me
back under the ground.
Old Collector
Old Collector – good advice, but the kickbacks for the *black*hawk & *door*gunner*, is all i* want to dish*out! I*ll have my* bug*bag at hand, with flame*thrower for those frig,en-dirty-flying-monkeys! My* rapid*fire*bazooka, & a few other gadget*s! This *viking* going in solo*! *I! Just *hope! *My stash of cash, is in a *balistic*proof*high*heat*safe!, That would suck! I* sea* platinum* on the rise* for this day, some*ones, are having fun with the game* of metal*=$$$$$$$$$$$.smile*
Joe Brown,
I really like the idea of your rapid-fire bazooka; I’ll be checking at the local Army-Navy surplus store for one of those beauties after the weather gets more hospitable, enough so for me to come out of hibernation. These “bomb cyclones” over Boston – by the way, you can’t prove to me that Kim The Youngun ain’t behind ’em – have got me scrunching down in my bunker hiding from the power outages like a chipmunk at a cat show…yikes!
Old Collector
Joe Brown,
Speaking of which, we clearly forgot to get the Congress to authorize the minting of a commemorative silver dollar to celebrate the Fortieth Anniversary Of The Great Nor’easter (“Blizzard” for all of you non-New Englanders out there) Of 1978, with the U.S. Mint directed to subsequently donate all of the coin surcharge proceeds to a snow removal fund to help relieve the ongoing winter woes of the Bay State. 🙂
Old Collector & Memory Resurrector
Old Collector + remember the *April*Fool, *Storm, less than 3 decades ago! My *leader & myself*, restored *big*blue* that you sea* on rt*128, on the clock for two*week 24/7, it was nice to *nap on company* time, even tho we slept* sitting up for 2*weeks. *I have to say! two of the better *paychecks i* earned! Even after my *great*uncle*Sam* got threw with it. If that were the case* this time, 1*Green*Mountain*Box, right of the top*, just for safe keeping! U* say! Never as *great as 78*, *i don*t know who had more fun*, my*dog*red*, or me* & my crowd*… Read more »
Joe Brown, Yep, that one caught us looking the other way, but who could blame us; after all…APRIL! APRIL? What was THAT all about? Anyway, ever since then it’s NEVER been a safe bet to say THIS has got to be the LAST one of the year, eh? So tonight another big one – maybe even the biggest yet of the season – is coming our way; why oh why? Anyway, to take my mind off all this white stuff I ordered some nice new coins for my collection. After all, I can’t control the weather but I can change… Read more »
at least there’s not 3 high tides: like last one, just 1 small block from * beach! Got my sea*fearing *canoe at hand if that day or night ever does happen. Enjoy* your new order! *Old Collector.
Joe Brown,
I will, thanks! In fact, the shipment is already on it’s way. No matter how many times I order, it always makes me feel like I did as a kid just before Christmas! 🙂
Glad you have an aquatically-serviceable alternative to wading, swimming or going down with the house/ship standing by. Or as the (very) old saying goes, canoe canoe?
Old Collector (& Cruise Director)