Precious metals registered a second day of across-the-board gains and also achieved another round of settlement highs, reaching back to early May for silver and mid-June for both gold and platinum.
Gold for August delivery climbed by $2.10, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,963.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Like in the prior session, the settlement was gold’s highest since June 16.
"Another tame U.S. inflation report today has the marketplace thinking the Federal Reserve is likely nearer the end of its interest-rate-hiking cycle. That’s bullish for commodity markets, including the metals," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that consumer prices increased last month by 0.2%, up some from May’s increase of 0.1%. Annual inflation slowed in June to 3% from 4%, the lowest rate in more than two years. Then on Thursday, the Labor Department reported that producer prices increased 0.1% in June and by the same amount year-over-year.
On the day, gold futures traded between $1,956.60 and $1,968.50. They advanced by 1.3% on Wednesday, they gained 0.3% on Tuesday, and they dipped 0.08% on Monday.
Meanwhile, silver for September tacked on 63.9 cents, or 2.6%, to end at $24.949 an ounce. The close was the best since May 10. Silver futures ranged from $24.31 to $25.05. They rallied by 4.4% on Wednesday, they fell by 0.3% on Tuesday, and they gained 0.2% on Monday.
In PGM future prices on Thursday:
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October platinum increased by $26.80, or 2.8%, to $983.40 an ounce, trading between $957.70 and $986.90. Platinum’s finish was its highest since June 16.
- Palladium for September delivery rose by $12, or 0.9%, to $1,291.80 an ounce, ranging from $1,265 to $1,305. The close was palladium’s best since June 27.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Earlier this week, on Tuesday, the U.S. Mint reported the first bullion sales gains for the month and published updated figures for June. No additional bullion sales were reported on Wednesday or Thursday.
The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold (not total ounces) during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Last Week | Week / July | March | April | May | June | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 12,000 | 211,000 | 159,500 | 60,500 | 35,000 | 637,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 18,000 | 1,000 | 73,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 32,000 | 4,000 | 132,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 35,000 | 80,000 | 60,000 | 385,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,500 | 73,000 | 61,000 | 47,000 | 17,000 | 279,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 414,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 1,593,000 | 1,482,000 | 10,138,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7,500 | 500 | 1,200 | 3,500 | 12,700 |
With 2 major banks being busted for manipulation, makes you wonder why they bother posting daily prices. The bank is the house and the house always wins. They three what, 2 maybe 3 people under the bus and the banks made billions. I’ll see your gold and raise you 2 lead balls