Thursday saw gains in prices across all precious metals, with the strongest increases seen in silver, followed by gold, and weaker advances in palladium and platinum. Silver registered a two-and-a-half month high.
Climbing for the third time in four sessions, gold for December delivery tacked on $23, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,987.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Nov. 6.
During the day, gold prices traded between $1,959 and $1,991.10, after dipping by 0.1% on Wednesday, rising by 0.8% on Tuesday, and climbing by 0.7% on Monday.
"Gold and silver prices are solidly higher in midday U.S. trading Thursday… The precious metals bulls are getting fuel from this week’s tamer U.S. inflation data that sunk the U.S. dollar index and also has the marketplace thinking about a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in the spring," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that producer prices fell by 0.5% in October after rising by 0.4% in September, and rose 1.3% in the 12 months through October, compared to 2.2% previously. On Tuesday, the Labor Department reported that consumer prices were unchanged last month, compared to a 0.4% increase in September, while annual inflation slowed to 3.2% from 3.7%.
Advancing for the sixth time in seven sessions, silver for December increased by 39.5 cents, or 1.7%, closing at $23.933 an ounce. This settlement marked the highest level since Sept. 1. Silver futures ranged from $23.35 to $24.17. They gained 1.8% on Wednesday, they jumped by 3.5% on Tuesday, and they posted a 0.4% increase on Monday.
In other precious metals prices on Thursday:
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January platinum inched up by 80 cents, or nearly 0.1%, to $902.80 an ounce, trading between $894.30 and $909.40.
- Palladium for December delivery added $9.30, or 0.9%, to $1,049.60an ounce, ranging from $1,023 to $1,055.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
On Thursday, the U.S. Mint reported increased bullion sales for the second time this month, with new gains totaling 18,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 1.083 million ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 6,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
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 / This Week | Last Week | August | September | October | November | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 15,500 | 7,000 | 78,000 | 27,500 | 97,000 | 22,500 | 891,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 3,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 13,000 | 7,000 | 4,000 | 99,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 6,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 30,000 | 18,000 | 10,000 | 192,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 45,000 | 0 | 150,000 | 40,000 | 30,000 | 45,000 | 650,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 6,500 | 3,500 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 36,500 | 10,000 | 377,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 1,083,000 | 356,000 | 3,124,000 | 2,970,000 | 3,938,000 | 1,439,000 | 23,286,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
