On Thursday, prices for precious metals were mixed, with gold and silver registering modest losses and platinum and palladium recording solid gains.
Gold for February delivery edged down by $1.50, or 0.07%, to settle at $2,046.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold and silver prices are modestly lower in quieter U.S. trading near midday Thursday. The markets are seeing some price consolidation after big moves earlier this week. Also, traders are awaiting a key U.S. data point on Friday morning," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $2,036.60 and $2,057.20. They inched up by 0.6% on Wednesday, they slipped by 0.3% on Tuesday, and they dropped by 2.3% on Monday. On Friday, they settled at an all-time high of $2,089.70 an ounce.
Down for a fourth day following six straight gains, silver for March delivery shed 16.9 cents, or 0.7%, closing at $24.059 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23.90 to $24.35. They gave back 1.3% on Wednesday, they fell by 1.5% on Tuesday, and they declined by 3.7% on Monday, following their highest settlement since May 9 on Friday.
In other precious metals prices on Thursday:
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January platinum increased by $18.30, or 2.1%, to $912 an ounce, trading between $890 and $919.10.
- Rising for a second session following six straight losses, palladium for March delivery jumped by $30.50, or 3.2%, to $981.20 an ounce, ranging from $944 to $999.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
U.S. Mint bullion sales last changed on Wednesday, Nov. 29, and those gains were the third for this month. Advances included 15,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 939,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 1,500 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 | 0 | 12,500 | 78,000 | 27,500 | 97,000 | 35,000 | 904,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 13,000 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 101,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 30,000 | 18,000 | 14,000 | 196,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 150,000 | 40,000 | 30,000 | 55,000 | 660,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 36,500 | 11,500 | 379,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 939,000 | 3,124,000 | 2,970,000 | 3,938,000 | 2,378,000 | 24,225,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
I don’t know why anyone is saying they can’t find any 2023 coins. I’m finding a lot of them. Maybe the cents were issued late in the year like the 1916 Standing Liberty Quarters and 1921 Peace Dollars. That was more than a century ago. I found a 1920 S Lincoln Cent on the floor of my laundromat and realized that’s more than a century ago. Like finding an Indian Cent in 2009.