Three of four major precious metals declined on Thursday, including gold which fell for the first time in five sessions and from an all-time high.
Gold for February delivery fell by $9.60, or 0.5%, to settle at $2,083.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"There’s not a lot of trading volume right now in any of the markets so that usually causes smaller moves, especially when we’re approaching a big number like an all-time high," Reuters quoted Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at EverBank.
"The reason prices have gone back near the horizon and rallied again towards the end of the year is all about interest rate expectations and a weaker dollar."
Gold futures traded between $2,078.50 and $2,098.20. They advanced by 1.1% on Wednesday, registering a record settlement at $2,093.10 an ounce, and they inched 0.03% higher at the start of the new trading week on Tuesday.
Declining for the fourth time in five sessions, silver for March delivery gave back 26.9 cents, or 1.1%, ending at $24.372 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $24.25 to $24.74. They gained 1% on Wednesday and they lost 0.7% on Tuesday.
In other precious metals prices on Thursday:
-
April platinum added $8.60, or 0.9%, to $1,023.20 an ounce, trading between $1,009.10 and $1,031.
- Palladium for March delivery declined by $17.50, or 1.5%, to $1,140.20 an ounce, ranging from $1,132 to $1,175.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
On Thursday, the U.S. Mint published new bullion sales, marking only the second time this month. The data showed increases in American Eagle gold and silver coin sales, and it included a negative adjustment for American Buffalo gold coins.
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 | October | November | December | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 2,500 | 97,000 | 40,000 | 15,000 | 924,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 102,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 18,000 | 16,000 | 0 | 198,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 30,000 | 55,000 | 15,000 | 675,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | -7,000 | 36,500 | 14,000 | 5,500 | 387,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 157,000 | 3,938,000 | 2,378,000 | 525,000 | 24,750,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
