Precious metals moved in the same direction for a second straight session Thursday, with palladium rising and gold, silver and platinum falling. Silver dropped sharply to end at a more than 9-1/2-month low. Gold finished the day at its lowest price in five weeks.
Gold for December delivery declined $38.10, or 2.1%, to settle at $1,756.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the worst since Aug. 12.
"Stronger-than-expected U.S. economic reports on Thursday morning, which rallied the U.S. dollar index, helped to send gold and silver prices south. The near-term chart postures for both metals have deteriorated significantly this week, which is also inviting the shorter-term futures traders to play the short side of the markets," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Retail sales rose 0.7% in August, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Thursday, against most economists’ expectations of a decline. Also, jobless claims rose 20,000 to 332,000 in the week ended Sept. 11, the U.S. Labor Department reported, remaining near a pandemic low.
For the day, gold futures ranged from a low of $1,745.50 to a high of $1,797.30. They lost 0.7% on Wednesday, they gained 0.7% on Tuesday — registering their highest settlement since Sept. 3, and they inched 0.1% higher on Monday.
Silver for December delivery tumbled $1.007, or 4.2%, to close at $22.794 an ounce. The finish was silver’s weakest since Nov. 30.
Silver futures traded between $22.58 and $24. They dipped 0.4% on Wednesday, they edged up 0.4% on Tuesday, and they gave back 0.4% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices on Thursday:
-
October platinum lost $7.20, or 0.8%, to $923.30 an ounce, ranging from $921 to $950.50.
- Palladium for December delivery advanced $29.90, or 1.5%, to $2,021.50 an ounce, trading between $1,986.50 and $2,079.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
Published United States Mint bullion sales increased Thursday by 25,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
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 | August | September | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 19,500 | 9,500 | 112,000 | 29,000 | 775,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 21,000 | 3,000 | 80,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 34,000 | 6,000 | 126,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 50,000 | 10,000 | 340,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 4,500 | 27,500 | 14,500 | 250,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 25,000 | 750,000 | 1,500,000 | 3,930,000 | 2,250,000 | 25,190,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,900 |
‘Retail sales rose 0.7% in August, the U.S. Commerce Department reported‘
Did the quantity of sales actually increase, or is this just a reflection of inflation?
Translation:
‘Gagarin – First Person in Space‘
Rest in Peace, Yuri
Kaiser, I too love silver, but my first love if gold! Both these precious metals look amazing as coins, but the gold ones..well they’re just off the chart! As to silvers daily price, I don’t get an acid reflux episode if it moves up or down by a fews pennies (sorry, I meant to say cents!) What I don’t fathom is the premium we are now forced to pay every time we want to add a bit of this precious metal to our stores. Since it was just a couple years ago that one would pay $3.99 over spot for… Read more »
Kaiser,
You are probably right about the Mints pricing. I think you’ve stated before ‘throw out a number and see if we’ll pay it, then throw out a bigger number and see if we’ll pay it’…over and over.
I was wondering if you’ve had any movement in your order for the Reverse Proof Designer Set? Mine is still stuck in ‘processing.’ I’m hoping I can have it delivered by next week or at least before Mike ‘The Coin God’ Mezack has it to hawk on HSN!