Palladium registered a new, near five-month high on Thursday. Gold, silver and platinum, meanwhile, tumbled. Gold finished at a three-week low.
Gold for February delivery fell $36.60, or 2%, to settle at $1,793.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was gold’s weakest since Jan. 6.
"The precious metals [gold and silver] are getting hammered following a more-hawkish-than-expected Federal Reserve meeting and some upbeat U.S. economic data — both of which have helped push the U.S. dollar index to a 1.5-year high today,” Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,790.60 to a high of $1,821.40. They lost 1.2% on Wednesday and they tacked on 0.6% on Tuesday to mark their best settlement since Nov. 18. Gold prices rose 0.5% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery sank $1.13, or 4.8%, to settle at $22.676 an ounce. The close was silver’s lowest since Jan. 10. Silver futures traded between $22.58 and $23.63. They shed 0.4% on Wednesday, they gained 0.4% on Tuesday, and they lost 2.1% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices on Thursday:
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April platinum declined $24.10, or 2.3%, to $1,021.80 an ounce, ranging from $1,012.40 to $1,039.30.
- Palladium for March delivery advanced $15.90, or 0.7%, to $2,366.50 an ounce, trading between $2,237 and $2,390. The settlement was the highest since Sept. 3 when palladium ended at $2,416.30 an ounce.
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 | 0 | 22,500 | 41,000 | 1,115,500 | 110,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 95,000 | 45,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 2,000 | 162,000 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 30,000 | 0 | 490,000 | 180,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 11,000 | 10,500 | 350,500 | 53,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000,000 | 0 | 28,275,000 | 4,501,000 |
| $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 |
My precious.