Gold stood alone with gains among precious metals Thursday. Palladium was the biggest loser on the day, plunging 3.6% after scoring a record on Wednesday.
Gold for February delivery rose $1, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,243.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"If gold was ever going to stage a meaningful rally it will be now: stocks and yields are falling and dollar is isn’t doing too great either, apart from against commodity currencies, owing to the ongoing risk-off trade," MarketWatch quoted Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst with Forex.com.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,240 to a high of $1,249.90. They shed 0.3% on Wednesday, gained 0.6% on Tuesday — marking their best close since July 12, and they rose 1.1% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery lost 7.3 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $14.509 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.41 and $14.59. They declined 0.4% on Wednesday, they advanced 1% on Tuesday for their strongest finish since Nov. 5, and they jumped 2% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices Thursday:
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January platinum fell $12.40, or 1.6%, to $789.60 an ounce, ranging from $785 to $803.80.
- Palladium for March delivery sank $42.50 to $1,141.90 an ounce, trading between $1,135.80 and $1,188.30. On Wednesday, they settled at a record of $1,184.40 an ounce.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold rose $6.65, or 0.5%, to 1,242.55 an ounce.
- Silver declined 10 cents, or 0.7%, to $14.38 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. 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 / December | November | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 11,000 | 0 | 16,000 | 188,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 230,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 0 | 5,500 | 120,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 375,000 | 150,000 | 1,645,000 | 15,360,000 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Cumberland Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,500 |
| Block Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 80,000 | 0 | 80,000 | 80,000 |
