Precious metals rose together on Thursday, posting gains ranging from 0.5% for gold to 1.9% for palladium. Gold’s increase was its first in six sessions and comes on the heels of ending at a two-month low.
Gold for April delivery tacked on $10.60 to settle at $2,014.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold and silver prices are higher in midday U.S. trading Thursday, on corrective rebounds following recent selling pressure and after a U.S. retail sales report that was weaker than expected," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department announced that U.S. retail sales experienced a seasonally adjusted decline of 0.8% in January, the largest drop in 10 months. This is compared to the previous month, when sales rose by a revised 0.4% instead of 0.6%.
During the day, gold futures traded between $2,001.80 and $2,020.20. They slipped by 0.1% on Wednesday, registering their lowest settlement since Dec. 13, they lost 1.3% on Tuesday, and they shed 0.3% on Monday.
Elsewhere, silver for March delivery increased by 56.4 cents, or 2.5%, ending at $22.951 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $22.40 to $23.09. They rose by 1.1% on Wednesday, they tumbled by 2.7% on Tuesday, marking their lowest settlement since Oct. 12, and they rose by 0.8% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices on Thursday:
-
April platinum added $7.90, or 0.9%, to $905.20 an ounce, trading between $893.70 and $910.20.
- Palladium for March delivery added $17.80 to $952.80 an ounce, ranging from $923 to $982.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2024
On Thursday, for the first time this week, the U.S. Mint published new bullion sales, which included gains of 5,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 5,000 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 / Week | Last Week | January | February | 2024 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 3,500 | 3,000 | 87,500 | 6,500 | 94,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | 0 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 4,000 | 0 | 46,000 | 4,000 | 50,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 20,000 | 115,000 | 25,000 | 140,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 500 | 46,500 | 5,500 | 52,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 850,000 | 4,900,000 | 850,000 | 5,750,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
