In precious metals trading on Thursday, prices for platinum were flat while they increased for gold, silver and palladium. Gold ended the day at an 8.5-month high.
Logging its fourth increase in five sessions, gold for February delivery tacked on $19.90, or 1.1%, to close at $1,898.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was gold’s best since ending at $1,911.70 an ounce on April 29.
"This [CPI] report falls slightly into the camp of the U.S. monetary policy doves, as the report suggests U.S. inflation has peaked. That’s good news for the U.S. and the global economy, while also suggesting demand for metals could uptick in 2023," said in a daily research note.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that consumer prices fell 0.1% in December after rising 0.1% in November, resulting in year-on-year inflation easing to 6.5% from 7.1%.
Gold futures traded between $1,872.40 and $1,906.50. They rose 0.1% on Wednesday, they dipped 0.07% on Tuesday, and they rose 0.4% on Monday.
Breaking a three-session losing streak, silver for March delivery surged 52.3 cents, or 2.2%, to end at $24.004 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23.50 to $24.33. They lost 0.8% on Wednesday, they gave back 0.9% on Tuesday, and they dipped 0.5% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices on Thursday:
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April platinum was unchanged at $1,084.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,067 to $1,092.50.
- Palladium for March delivery added $9.80, or 0.6%, to $1,790.90 an ounce, trading between $1,736 and $1,797.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
On Wednesday, published United States Mint bullion sales changed for the first time since Dec. 29. They increased again on Thursday by a combined 3,500 ounces in American Gold 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 | August | September | October | November | December | 2022 Sales | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 3,000 | 47,500 | 47,500 | 59,500 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 850,000 | 90,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 | 34,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 0 | 140,000 | 50,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 20,000 | 15,000 | 15,000 | 0 | 0 | 575,000 | 115,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 22,500 | 44,500 | 39,500 | 4,500 | 0 | 410,000 | 44,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 850,000 | 833,000 | 1,258,000 | 1,407,000 | 59,000 | 15,963,500 | 3,499,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 | 0 |
Astute observation, kind sir Kaiser. Now back to our caviar and brandy.