Precious metals futures ended divided on Thursday with gold and silver lower and platinum and palladium higher. Silver ended at a more than two-year low and gold finished at an almost thirteen-month low.
Gold for December delivery fell $7.50, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,220.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the lowest since July 13, 2017, when prices ended at $1,217.30 an ounce.
"Gold has no story going forward," MarketWatch quoted Ira Epstein, managing director, at commodities broker Linn Group. "Gold is now fighting a rising set of interest rates in America and it saw the Bank of England raise rates today and it’s going to have to deal with the fact that if Europe stabilizes rates there will start climbing," he said
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,219.70 to a high of $1,230. They lost 0.5% on Wednesday, rose 0.2% on Tuesday — ending the month of July with a 1.7% loss, and edged down 0.1% on Monday.
Silver for September declined 6.7 cents, or 0.4%, to close at $15.385 an ounce. The settlement is the lowest since April 8, 2016 when the precious metal ended at $15.384 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.37 and $15.49. They dropped 0.7% on Wednesday, climbed 0.1% on Tuesday — registering a 3.9% July loss, and rose 0.3% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Thursday:
-
October platinum gained $11, or 1.4%, to $828.20 an ounce, ranging from $813.90 to $837.
- Palladium for September delivery rose $3.60, or 0.4%, to $915.50 an ounce, trading between $902.20 and $919.40.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $3.55, or 0.3%, to 1,215.45 an ounce.
- Silver fell 2.5 cents, or 0.2%, to $15.45 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 products registered their first gains of the month. Advances included 30,000 ounces in American Eagle silver coins and a combined 1,000 ounces in American Eagle and Buffalo gold coins.
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 / August | Last Week | This Week | June | July | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 6,500 | 2,000 | 21,500 | 31,500 | 119,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 50,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 15,000 | 25,000 | 150,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 0 | 6,500 | 6,500 | 24,500 | 78,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 30,000 | 240,000 | 130,000 | 435,000 | 885,000 | 7,737,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
Silver at 2.3-year low & the Mint raised its silver coin prices this year. Madness!
-NumisdudeTX