Precious metals moved ahead Thursday with gains ranging from 0.1% for silver to 5.8% for palladium. Gold finished at a 10-day high.
Gold for June delivery rose $7.10, or 0.4%, to close at $1,745.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since April 14.
"In a direct opposite to the glut in the oil market, physical gold is seeing a shortage and so the price on the ‘nearest to deliver’ futures contract is experiencing sporadic $50+ surges in premiums relative to spot," wrote Albert Edwards, global strategist at Société Générale, in a Thursday research note reported by MarketWatch.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,730.60 to a high of $1,764.20. They gained 3% on Wednesday, they fell 1.4% on Tuesday — marking their worst finish since April 8, and they rose 0.7% on Monday.
Silver for May delivery added 2.2 cents to settle at $15.357 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.20 and $15.72. They jumped 3.1% on Wednesday, they tumbled 4.7% on Tuesday — logging their lowest close since April 3, and they gained 2.1% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices Thursday:
-
July platinum advanced $22.70, or 3%, to $788 an ounce, ranging from $766.70 to $814.30.
- Palladium for June delivery surged $108.80 to $2,001 an ounce, trading between $1,852.10 and $2,046.80.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold gained $25.70, or 1.5%, to $1,736.25 an ounce.
- Silver advanced 39.5 cents, or 2.7%, to $15.305 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Thursday. In terms of 5-ounce silver bullion sales for 2020, the U.S. Mint is working on getting them automated and reported.
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 | April | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 11,000 | 20,000 | 38,000 | 3,500 | 133,000 | 76,500 | 251,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23,000 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 0 | 33,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 20,000 | 0 | 40,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60,000 | 20,000 | 95,000 | 0 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 5,500 | 21,000 | 1,000 | 65,500 | 9,500 | 97,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,846,000 | 650,000 | 5,482,500 | 350,000 | 10,328,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 0 | 14,500 | 9,300 | 31,200 | 1,500 | 56,500 |
