Bullion & Business Weekend Report – Feb 14

Precious metals bounced higher on the week while oil moved markedly lower despite an exceptionally strong Friday. U.S. stocks closed lower and European stocks were split. For the week, the London gold fixing gained 2.5 percent, silver rose 3.7 percent and platinum jumped 6.7 percent. The Dow lost 5.2 percent, the S&P declined 4.8 percent and the Nasdaq fell 3.6 percent.

New York crude-oil for March delivery closed on Friday to $37.51 a barrel, surging $3.53, or 10.4 percent, but falling 6.6 percent on the week.

AAA said the average price for unleaded gasoline on Saturday settled to $1.965 a gallon compared to $1.799 a month ago and $2.984 one year back.

London silver ended at $13.37 an ounce, rising 48 cents since last Friday’s close.

London gold closed to $935.50 an ounce, gaining $22.50 for the week.

London platinum settled to $1055.00 an ounce, surging $66.00 on the week.

"The reckless abandon with which the administration and Congress commit to hundreds of billions of dollars of spending will mean the devastation of the dollar, which will lead foreign central banks and investors to abandon the dollar as a core holding," Adrian Day, the president of Adrian Day Asset Management in Annapolis, Maryland, was quoted on Bloomberg.com. "Gold can only benefit."

"New York gold trading was off by $6 late in the afternoon on this Friday the 13th, but investors were still viewing the pullback as anything but unlucky, and were likely welcoming the pause as a sign that the march to $1K is hopefully more orderly than has been the case on occasion," commented senior Kitco analyst Jon Nadler.

Gold, considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty, tends to follow oil and move opposite to the U.S. dollar. A rising greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities, like bullion, more expensive for holders of other world currencies.

When prices are falling and economic activities are shrinking, gold prices tend to move lower. London Fix gold is used as a world benchmark for immediate delivery.

Silver, gold and platinum performance charts and tables follow as well as a Reuters weekly business recap video and related precious metal and business article sources.

CoinNews London Fix Charts: Silver, Gold and Platinum
(Feb. 6 – Feb. 13)

The London Fix is one of the most used bullion quotes around the world. The London AM fix for gold and platinum begins at 10:30am GMT (5:30am in New York), and the PM fix begins at 3pm GMT (10am in New York). The London Fix for silver begins each business day at 12pm GMT (7am in New York).

London Fix figures: percent and dollar changes

Bullion articles of interest

In related news, interesting or quick-read articles:

• Feb. 13 – Gold falls first day in four, ends week 3% higher – MarketWatch
  Gold futures fell Friday for the first session in four, dropping from a seven-month high to about $942 an ounce as investors took advantage of the prior sessions’ gains and moved into other assets such as oil.

• Feb. 13 – Gold Falls as Demand Ebbs After Rally Tops $950; Platinum Drops – Bloomberg
  Gold prices fell as demand for the precious metal eased after a three-day rally to the highest since July. Platinum also declined.

• Feb. 13 – Easy Money. Who Needs It? – Jon Nadler, Kitco
  A $4 spike overshadowed practically every other market development on this lucky for crude oil Friday the 13th. Gold picked up on the vibes coming from the oil pits and cut its earlier losses…

• Feb. 13 – First Spouse Gold Coin Sales Figures – First Spouse Coins
  The latest United States Mint First Spouse Gold Coin sales figures are positive across all coins, but not terribly so with increases between 0.2 and 0.9 percent.

• Feb. 12 – US Mint Silver Coin Sales Stats – Silver Coins Today
  US silver coin sales increased compared to those reported last week, with the 2008-dated Mint Silver Proof Set jumping by 7,483, or 2.53 percent. To date, over 709,000 have been sold.

• Feb. 12 – US Mint Gold, Platinum and Silver Coin Sales Figures – CoinNews
  The latest collector gold coin sales figures compare the most recent US Mint reported numbers to those provided on Jan. 29, when a change in American Eagle Gold Uncirculated coins was last seen..

Video: Business week and stocks news by Reuters

Investors put the finishing touches on the biggest weekly drop since November as concerns about the banking sector offset progress on the stimulus plan in Washington. Friday numbers for the three major US indexes follow:

• The DOW dropped 82.35 points Friday to close at 7,850.41. For the week, the Dow lost 5.2 percent.

• The S&P 500 lost 8.35 points Friday, closing to 826.84. It fell 4.8 percent on the week.

• The NASDAQ fell 7.35 points Friday to finish at 1,534.36. It dropped 3.6 percent from last Friday’s close.

In other world markets:

• The German DAX on Friday climbed 5.83 points to close at 4,413.39.

• The Paris CAC 40 on Friday gained 33.52 points to close at 2,997.86.

• And the London FTSE 100 on Friday lost 12.65 points to close at 4,189.59.

Speaker: Carolyn Maloney, Democrat, U.S. House of Representatives Conway Gittens reports from New York. SOUNDBITE: Carolyn Maloney, Democrat, U.S. House of Representatives

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