Precious metals finished lower Thursday, led by a 1.4% drop in palladium. Losses for gold and silver were their first in five sessions. Both finished Wednesday near a two-week high.
Gold for February delivery shed $5.90, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,821.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“Gold and silver futures prices are weaker in midday U.S. trading Thursday, on some profit-taking pressure from the shorter-term futures traders following recent gains. The precious metals had been supported this week by friendly daily outside markets that included higher crude oil prices, a weaker U.S. dollar index and a slight drop in U.S. Treasury yields,” Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,811.80 to a high of $1,828.30. They gained 0.5% on Wednesday, reaching their highest settlement since Dec. 31, they rose 1.1% on Tuesday, and they edged 0.08% higher on Monday.
Silver for March delivery lost 4.5 cents, or 0.2%, to end at $23.162 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $23.03 and $23.32. They advanced 1.7% on Wednesday, for their best finish since Dec. 31, they gained 1.6% on Tuesday, and they inched up 0.2% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices on Thursday:
-
April platinum declined $7.90, or 0.8%, to $972.20 an ounce, ranging from $961.30 to $977.70.
- Palladium for March delivery fell $25.80 to $1,890 an ounce, trading between $1,861 and $1,919.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
Published United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Thursday. 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 | 2021 Sales | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 73,500 | 14,000 | 41,000 | 1,115,500 | 87,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 26,000 | 18,000 | 1,000 | 95,000 | 44,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 38,000 | 14,000 | 2,000 | 162,000 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 115,000 | 35,000 | 0 | 490,000 | 150,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 35,000 | 7,000 | 10,500 | 350,500 | 42,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 3,001,000 | 500,000 | 0 | 28,275,000 | 3,501,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 | 0 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,700 | 0 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,900 | 0 |
