London precious metals ended the week mixed with little movement as dips on Tuesday and Wednesday were flattened by mini spikes on Thursday and Friday. The U.S. dollar and oil traveled as if riding a roller coaster. Yet gold moved in a relative narrow range. The metals showed a touch of vibrancy by week’s end as New York futures, in particular, closed strong.
U.S. stocks enjoyed monster gains in July despite modest advances of less than 1 percent during the final week. European stocks rose for the third straight week.
For London bullion, gold fell 1.3 percent on the week but gained 0.5 percent in July. Silver slipped 1.1 percent for the week and 2.2 percent in July. Platinum gained on the week and in July by the same 0.3 percent. Precious metals figures for Friday follow:
London silver closed to $13.63 an ounce, falling 15 cents from last Friday’s close. New York silver futures for September delivery surged Friday to $13.94.
London Gold was fixed at $939.00 an ounce, a $12.50 drop for the week. Gold for August delivery closed in New York at $953.70.
London platinum rose to $1189.00 an ounce, rising $3.00 for the week. New York platinum for October delivery closed at $1,214.20.
"Gold is likely to reflect the skittish mood in equities and currencies over the next few weeks, as thinner summer-holiday markets react to the changing economic picture and knock-on effect this has on investor risk appetite," James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, was quoted on MarketWatch.
"The dollar fell, and fell hard following the GDP data. There is no other way to put this. The US currency lost 0.96 on the index and approached 78.29, while oil took off to higher ground," wrote Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc. "Gold started off the day with a $2.00 rise. By the afternoon hours, the gains in gold were roughly ten-fold higher."
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.
To follow are silver, gold and platinum performance charts, precious metal articles, oil news and week-ending world stock summaries.
London Fix Charts: Silver, Gold and Platinum
(July 24-31)
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*
(July 24-31)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-1.1%
|
-$0.15
|
$13.63
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-1.3%
|
-$12.50
|
$939.00
|
| Platinum |
X
|
|
0.3%
|
$3.00
|
$1189.00
|
(July 17-24)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
X
|
|
4.7%
|
$0.62
|
$13.78
|
| Gold |
X
|
|
1.5%
|
$14.00
|
$951.50
|
| Platinum |
X
|
|
1.8%
|
$21.00
|
$1186.00
|
(July 10-17)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
X
|
|
4.2%
|
$0.53
|
$13.16
|
| Gold |
X
|
|
2.7%
|
$24.50
|
$937.50
|
| Platinum |
X
|
|
6.4%
|
$70.00
|
$1165.00
|
(July 3-10)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-6.0%
|
-$0.81
|
$12.63
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-2.1%
|
-$19.50
|
$913.00
|
| Platinum |
|
X
|
-7.6%
|
-$90.00
|
$1095.00
|
(June 26 – July 3)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-5.8%
|
-$0.82
|
$13.44
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-1.0%
|
-$9.50
|
$932.50
|
| Platinum |
|
X
|
-1.5%
|
-$18.00
|
$1185.00
|
World business news; oil, gasoline, and stocks prices
Oil rallied late Friday "after government data showed a smaller-than-expected contraction in the U.S. economy and as a weaker dollar pushed up dollar-denominated commodities prices," wrote Moming Zhou and Polya Lesova of MarketWatch.
New York crude-oil for September delivery surged $2.51, or 3.7 percent, to close at $69.45 a barrel. While oil gained 2.1 percent on the week, it was down slightly in July by 0.6 percent.
Prices at the pump continue to rise. The national average Saturday for unleaded gasoline edged up to $2.527 a gallon, according to AAA. The price is a one-tenth of cent more than Friday, 4.6 cents higher than a week ago, 10.2 cents down from a month back, and $1.37 lower than a year ago.
U.S. stocks ended mix Friday, but enjoyed spectacular July figures as the Dow soared 8.6 percent — its best July since 1989. The S&P surged 7.4 percent — the best five-month rally since 1938. And the Nasdaq gained 7.8 percent for its best month since April. Week-ending figures for the three major US indexes follow:
-
The Dow rose 17.15 points to close at 9,171.61. It climbed 0.9 percent this week.
-
The S&P 500 gained 0.73 points, closing to 987.48. The index rose 0.8 percent this week.
- The NASDAQ fell 5.80 points to finish at 1,978.50. It climbed 0.6 percent on the week.
And in other world markets:
-
The German DAX fell 28.52 points to close at 5,332.14.
-
The Paris CAC 40 declined 9.22 points to close at 3,426.27.
- And the London FTSE 100 lost 23.25 points to close at 4,608.36.
U.S. stocks ended the best five-month rally since the Great Depression on a calm note after a report showed the U.S. economy shrank less than expected. Conway Gittens reports on this and other business news in the following Reuters’ video.
Bullion articles of interest
In related silver and gold news, interesting or quick-read articles from the week include:
- Gold rises as dollar weakens after U.S. GDP data – MarketWatch
Gold futures rose 2% Friday to end above $950 an ounce, as the U.S. dollar weakened after the release of U.S. gross-domestic-product data, raising gold’s appeal as an alternative investment…
- Gold Erases Gains in New York, London After Consumption Drops – Bloomberg
Gold erased gains in London and New York after the U.S. reported a drop in personal consumption, paring a drop in the dollar. U.S. personal consumption fell 1.2 percent in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said…
- Clunker Nation – Jon Nadler, Kitco
Well, we made it to this Friday, and the last day of July only to have been greeted by a plethora of economic statistics and assorted other data that ended up making for a very active trading day. First out of the gate this morning, news that stag-deflation is still gripping…
- US Mint Coin Sales: Proof Sets Dominate, Silver Eagles Reach Record – CoinNews
Proof sets could hardly perform better for the US Mint and bullion silver eagles continue to flash forward at a striking pace. The numbers do the talking: In a single week, 37,232 more Mint Proof Sets sets were sold, bringing the total to 888,329 since June 1…
- US First Spouse Gold Coin Sales Rise – First Spouse Coins
US Mint First Spouse Gold Coin sales improved ever so slightly compared to the last reading reported on July 22. Then, six of eight coins retreated in sales. The newest US Mint figures show four of eight coins gained, one was unchanged and three declined, when comparing…
- Silver Proof Sets Jump, US Eagles Score 2nd Best Month – Silver Coins Today
Silver coin news of the week is the smashing success for 2009 Silver Proof Sets and bullion 2009 American Silver Eagle Coins. The latter passed 16 million this year — 16,409,500 to be exact! With July not yet over, silver eagles have already entered the record book for the second best month in 2009 with a total of…
- Gold and Silver Eagle Bullion Coins Move Slower – Coin Sales Figures
The sales pace of American Eagle Gold and Silver Bullion Coins eased during the last seven days, new US Mint figures reveal. Silver eagle sales were still brisk, but at their slowest Monday to Monday level of the month and they increased by a bit more than half of the 800,000 from the week prior…
