Bullion & Business Weekend Report – Sept. 26

Precious metal prices turned south, ending the week down for the first time since mid-July. In notable declines, gold retreated below $1,000 an ounce, silver slipped toward $16, and platinum dropped under $1,290. New York oil futures turned higher on Friday but plunged 8% for the week. US and European stocks finished lower as well, with the former falling from recent one-year highs and the latter sliding to more than a two-week low.

In weekly London bullion figures, gold fell 2.0 percent, silver plummeted 5.3 percent and platinum sank 4.2 percent. Friday precious metals prices follow:

London silver closed to $16.20 an ounce, dropping 91 cents from last Friday’s close. New York December silver futures ended at $16.06.

London gold was fixed at $991.50 an ounce, for a decline of $20.50 on the week. New York gold for December delivery finished at $991.60.

London platinum fell to $1,281.00 an ounce, a loss of $56.00 for the week. New York platinum for October delivery closed at $1,284.60.

"If I’m long gold, I’ve got to be pretty discouraged that gold couldn’t get anything going above $1,000," Matt Zeman, a LaSalle Futures Group metals trader in Chicago, was quoted on Bloomberg. "All these people who’ve piled into gold in the past few weeks are going to be running for the exits."

"The price of gold could fall further if short-term-oriented market players square their long positions now that prices have dipped below $1,000," analysts at Commerzbank said a note posted on MarketWatch. "A sharper fall in prices should be prevented by the physical demand in the run-up to the festive and wedding season in India."

"Support at the $990/$995 area must become manifest and Indian buyers must become visible in droves this weekend, lest the gold price aims back down towards the $950-$975 zone in a hurry," wrote Jon Nadler, Sr. analyst at Kitco Metals Inc. "And even that might not wear the label of a ‘significant’ correction, at the end of the day."

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, oil news, week-ending world stock summaries, and precious metal article summaries for the week.

London Fix Charts: Silver, Gold and Platinum
(Sept 18 – 25)

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*

Weekly World Business News: Oil, Gasoline, and Stocks Prices

Crude oil rose Friday following two consecutive days of losses that still took prices down 8 percent to account for the biggest weekly decline in more than two months. New York crude-oil for November delivery climbed 13 cents, or 0.2 percent, to close at $66.20 a barrel on Friday. Last week’s front end contract ended at $72.04.

"The fundamentals support prices in a $67 to $73 range, and since we’re now below that, I wouldn’t expect it to drop much further," Andy Sommer, an analyst at Elektrizitaets- Gesellschaft in Dietikon, Switzerland, was quoted on Bloomberg. "That’s the range we would expect for the rest of the year."

Prices at the pump declined 1.3 cents Saturday compared to Friday. The national average for unleaded gasoline was $2.512 a gallon, according to a AAA fuel report. The price is 3.8 cents lower than last week, 10.8 cents less than a month back, and down $1.17 from a year ago.

U.S. stocks ended lower Friday and on the week, falling from one-year highs. For the week, the Dow lost 1.6 percent, the S&P declined 2.2 percent, and the Nasdaq fell 2.0 percent.

"We could see a new push higher or a much more substantial selloff," Brian Peardon, wealth advisor at Harrison Financial Group, was quoted on CNNMoney.com. "It’s just a matter of all the cash on the sidelines and whether the (buy on the) dip buyers decide to come in."

Friday figures for the three major US indexes follow:

• The Dow fell 42.25 points, closing to 9,665.19.

• The S&P slipped 6.40 points to close at 1,044.38.

• The NASDAQ retreated 16.69 points to finish at 2,090.92.

And in other world markets:

• The German DAX dropped 23.80 points to close at 5,581.41.

• The Paris CAC 40 declined 19.22 points, to close at 3,739.14.

• And the London FTSE 100 added 2.93 points to finish at 5,082.20.

Worries about the pace of an economic recovery lingered after weak factory data and a softer-than-expected housing report offset an improvement in consumer attitudes. Conway Gittens of Reuters reports on these, world stocks and other news business news in the following.

Bullion and Business Articles

In related silver and gold news, interesting or quick-read articles from the week include:

• Gold falls, down for the first week in six after mixed data – MarketWatch
  Gold futures fell Friday to near $990 an ounce, ending the week down for the first time in six weeks as investors digested mixed U.S. economic data. Holdings in the biggest gold …

• Gold Falls, Capping First Weekly Drop Since July; Silver Sinks – Bloomberg
  Gold fell, capping the biggest weekly decline since mid-July, as the metal’s failure to reach a record discouraged investors who had bet on a longer rally. Silver tumbled …

• Baby, You Can Drive My Investment – Jon Nadler, Kitco
  Gold’s largest weekly drop in more than two months was slightly mitigated by a small decline in the dollar during the overnight hours. The sell-off in the metal began on the heels of the Fed meeting on Wednesday, …

• Silver Eagles Strong in September, Despite Struggle – Silver Coins Today
  Collector silver coin sales remained mixed with a touch of unexciting, according to the latest US Mint sale figures. Bullion American Silver Eagles continue to struggle compared to prior 2009 months …

• US Mint Sales: Gold Coins and Proof Sets Excel in September – CoinNews
  Demand for gold coins and 2009 Proof Sets is turning out to be exceptionally high this September, US Mint sales data reveals. The latest weekly sales figures also show collector coins were mixed compared to the week prior, with very narrow up or down changes …

• Top Weekly Sellers: Proof First Spouse Coins – First Spouse Coins
  This week, two Proof versions of First Spouse Gold Coins were hot sellers in the series. Sarah Polk and Julia Tyler Proofs jumped by 339 and 218, respectively. Their uncirculated options didn’t do bad either. Polk’s climbed by 164 and …

• US Mint Intrinsic Silver Coin Values, 90% Silver Coins – Silver Coins Today
  Silver prices topped $17 an ounce, reaching 2009 highs during the third week of September. But even better for those with silver holdings, prices have jumped by more than $6 an ounce …

• Fed: Economy has ‘Picked Up’, US Inflation ‘Subdued’ – US Inflation Calculator
  The Federal Reserve ended its two-day meeting Wednesday, and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) held interest rates steady near zero, as expected. The FOMC followed the meeting with a statement saying that “economic activity has picked up.” It also indicated US inflation was under control, stating …

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