Precious metals futures moved narrowly Thursday with all but palladium sliding slightly. Gold edged down yet neared its 2018 low of $1,224 an ounce.
Gold for August delivery declined $6.10, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,225.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“The rise is partially to do with the news that Trump and the EU called a ceasefire on the trade war and a halt on auto tariffs,” Reuters quoted Natixis precious metals analyst Bernard Dahdah.
“But gold has been dropping since April so there is a bigger story behind this fall rather than just the EU-US story at the moment.”
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,224.30 to a high of $1,235.30. They rose 0.5% on Wednesday, dipped less than 0.1% on Tuesday, and declined 0.5% on Monday.
Silver for September lost 9.4 cents, or 0.6%, to close at $15.495 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $15.45 to $15.70. They advanced 0.4% on Wednesday, gained 0.6% on Tuesday, and fell 0.8% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices on Thursday:
- October platinum fell $4, or 0.5%, to $835.70 an ounce, trading between $826.20 and $847.80.
- Palladium for September delivery added $5.30, or 0.6%, to $933.60 an ounce, ranging from $919 to $936.50.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $3.25, or 0.3%, to 1,228.25 an ounce.
- Silver shed 3 cents, or 0.2%, to $15.535 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion sales advance by 5,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Last Week | This Week | June | July | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 11,000 | 6,500 | 21,500 | 30,000 | 117,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 50,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 20,000 | 5,000 | 15,000 | 25,000 | 150,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 7,500 | 0 | 6,500 | 18,500 | 72,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 180,000 | 240,000 | 435,000 | 785,000 | 7,607,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 | 0 | 30,000 |