Precious metals declined on Thursday, posting settlement lows that ranged from over two weeks for gold, silver, and platinum to more than three weeks for palladium.
Down for the first time in three sessions, Gold for August delivery fell by $24.40, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,945.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since July 11.
"There was a one and two punch on gold with a better-than-expected initial [U.S. jobs] claims numbers showing that the strength of the U.S. labor market is resilient," Reuters quoted Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago.
"Then also that surprise upside expectation in GDP data as well shows you that if there is any recession, it’s just not no one seeing it right now. So it paves the way for higher for longer on interest rates."
On the day, gold futures traded between $1,941.70 and $1,982.60, after rising by 0.3% on Wednesday, edging 0.08% higher on Tuesday, and sliding 0.2% on Monday.
Also falling for the first time in three sessions, silver for September dropped by 60.3 cents, or 2.4%, and settled at $24.367 an ounce. The close was silver’s worst since July 12. Silver futures traded between $24.18 and $25.33, after advancing by 0.6% on Wednesday, increasing by 1% on Tuesday, and falling by 1.1% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices on Thursday:
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October platinum shed $27, or 2.8%, to $945 an ounce, ranging from $940.20 to $982.50. Like for gold, the settlement was platinum’s weakest since July 11.
- Palladium for September delivery declined by $19.30, or 1.5%, to $1,236.60 an ounce, trading between $1,215.50 and $1,270. The close was palladium’s lowest since July 3.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
On Monday, the U.S. Mint reported bullion sales gains for only the second time this month. Since then, there have been no further reports of bullion sales.
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 | This Week | May | June | July | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 24,000 | 60,500 | 35,000 | 36,000 | 661,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 73,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32,000 | 4,000 | 0 | 132,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 | 60,000 | 0 | 385,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 11,000 | 47,000 | 17,000 | 13,500 | 290,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 790,000 | 1,593,000 | 1,482,000 | 1,240,000 | 10,928,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,200 | 3,500 | 0 | 12,700 |
