Gold Prices Rise for 4th Session, Silver Follows, US Bullion Coins Unchanged

While a stronger greenback initially pushed gold prices lower Thursday, safety buying pulled prices back higher for the close. February gold prices rose $7.40, or 0.5%, to $1,620.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the fourth consecutive session in which prices advanced. Gold’s low Thursday came in at $1,597.70 an ounce while its high came in at $1,626.80 an ounce.

"The biggest influence today was the euro," said Frank Lesh, a broker and futures analyst with FuturePath Trading in Chicago, according to MarketWatch. "People fled the euro and bought gold."

Silver tracked gold prices. March silver futures added 19.9 cents, or 0.7%, to $29.30 an ounce.

The same cannot be said for palladium and platinum as both declined Thursday. March palladium futures prices fell $9.15, or 1.4%, to $644.40 an ounce while April platinum futures prices settled down $8.30, or 0.6%, to $1,418.00 an ounce.

United States Mint Bullion Coins

Zero bullion coins moved Thursday, according to available sales from the United States Mint website. All but one of the Eagles did rise on Wednesday, however. The increases are provided below.

Notes. Figures above are in quantity of coins sold, not the number of ounces.

In related United States Mint bullion news of the day, check out the CoinNews.net article Annual 2011 Gold Eagle Bullion Sales for a recap on how the 22-karat bullion coins performed last year.

London Bullion Prices

London bullion prices moved lower with the exception of platinum which remained unchanged at $1,415 an ounce. From the Wednesday PM to Thursday PM London fixings:

• Gold prices declined $14, or 0.9%, to $1,599 an ounce,
• Silver declined 26 cents, or 0.9%, to $28.92 an ounce,
• Palladium declined $11, or 1.7%, to $645 an ounce, and

Refer to this site’s home page for always updated bullion prices and the latest bullion news.