Gold and silver prices remained relatively stable at the start of the new month of February, showing modest gains, while platinum and palladium experienced more significant declines. Gold ended the day at a one-month high.
Rising for the fourth consecutive session, gold for April delivery edged up $3.70, or 0.2%, to settle at $2,071.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. For a second day, the settlement was the highest since Jan. 2 when gold ended at $2,073.40 an ounce. Gold futures traded between $2,046.40 and $2,083.20.
"The yellow metal has backed down from its session highs on reports an Israel-Hamas ceasefire may be close at hand. However, there has been no confirmation of such. Gold is being supported by safe-haven buying and by bullish daily outside market forces that include a weaker U.S. dollar index and a dip in U.S. Treasury yields," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold prices advanced by 0.8% on Wednesday, reducing their loss in January to 0.2%, they rose by 0.3% on Tuesday, and they climbed by 0.4% on Monday.
Elsewhere, silver for March delivery tacked on 6.7%, or 0.3%, to end at $23.236 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $22.60 to $23.37. They shed 0.2% on Wednesday, lifting their decline in January to 3.8%, they dipped by 0.1% on Tuesday, and they increased by 1.7% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices on Thursday:
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April platinum declined by $10.30, or 1.1%, to $922.30 an ounce, trading between $910.20 and $932.30.
- Palladium for March delivery fell by $25.20, or 2.5%, to $971.60 an ounce, ranging from $951.50 to $988.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2024
On Thursday, the U.S. Mint adjusted its bullion sales for January, increasing American Gold Eagles by 3,500 ounces and American Gold Buffalos by 500 ounces.
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 | November | December | 2023 Sales | January | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 3,500 | 11,000 | 16,500 | 40,000 | 15,000 | 924,000 | 87,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 102,000 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 16,000 | 0 | 198,000 | 46,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 25,000 | 55,000 | 15,000 | 675,000 | 115,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 2,500 | 8,000 | 14,000 | 5,500 | 387,000 | 46,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 25,000 | 0 | 2,378,000 | 525,000 | 24,750,000 | 4,900,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 | 0 |
