In futures trading Thursday, gold, silver and palladium gained while platinum declined. On Wednesday, gold logged its lowest close this year and silver finished at its worst level since January 2009.
Gold for April delivery edged up $1.40, or 0.09%, to settle at $1,479.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"We do think that gold has seen consistent cushioning from those unwilling to give up on the idea of gold and silver ‘eventually’ getting safe haven buying," analysts at Zaner Metals wrote in a daily note reported by MarketWatch. "However for the time being, the primary safe haven instrument (at times the only safe haven instrument) has been the dollar and, therefore, we are highly suspicious of further gains in precious metals particularly and silver."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,460.10 to a high of $1,502.80. They dropped 3.1% on Wednesday — registering their lowest settlement since Dec. 12, they advanced 2.6% on Tuesday, and they lost 2% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery jumped 36.2 cents, or 3.1%, to settle at $12.134 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $11.76 and $12.33. They tumbled 5.8% on Wednesday — ending at their lowest point since Jan. 22, 2009, they declined 2.5% on Tuesday, and they sank 11.6% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices on Thursday:
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April platinum fell $8.20, or 1.4%, to $596.80 an ounce, ranging from $585.30 to $648.40.
- Palladium for June delivery rallied $109.70, or 7.7%, to $1,529.40 an ounce, trading between $1,370 and $1,596.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $23.95, or 1.6%, to $1,474.25 an ounce.
- Silver fell 41.5 cents, or 3.3%, to $12.005 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged for a second day in a row following strong gains on Monday and Tuesday.
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 | January | February | March | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 3,500 | 43,000 | 38,000 | 3,500 | 48,000 | 89,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 23,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 6,000 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 55,000 | 60,000 | 20,000 | 70,000 | 150,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 15,500 | 21,000 | 1,000 | 20,500 | 42,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,570,000 | 792,500 | 3,846,000 | 650,000 | 3,112,500 | 7,608,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 3,200 | 0 | 14,500 | 9,300 | 6,200 | 30,000 |
