Gold and silver futures climbed for a second day in a row Friday, with both closing near four-week highs and locking in their third straight week of gains.
On Friday, gold for December delivery tacked on $7.30, or 0.6%, to close at $1,276.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since Oct. 3.
"Overall, it looks like the recent selloff in gold is over and it’s starting to turn back upward, while the U.S. dollar looks overextended and [is] peaking," MarketWatch quoted Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets.
Gold futures settled up 0.7% this week after advances of 1% last week and 0.3% the week before then. The yellow metal is now 20.4% higher than its final settlement in 2015 at $1,060.20 an ounce. In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street survey:
"Eighteen analysts and traders took part in the Wall Street survey. Ten participants, or 56%, look for gold to be higher next week. Five, or 28%, voted lower, while the remaining three, or 17%, look for the metal to be sideways.
Meanwhile, 544 Main Street participants submitted votes in Kitco.com’s online survey. A total of 237 respondents, or 44%, said they were bullish for the week ahead, while 234, or 43%, were bearish. The neutral votes totaled 73, or 13%."
Elsewhere, silver for December added 15.7 cents, or 0.9%, to finish at $17.796 an ounce. Like for gold, the settlement is the best since Oct. 3. Silver futures jumped 1.7% this week after two previous weekly gains of 0.3% and 0.4%. They are 28.9% higher than their ending 2015 settlement of $13.803 an ounce.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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January platinum advanced $16.50, or 1.7%, to settle at $981.40 an ounce, for a 5.3% weekly increase.
- Palladium for December delivery climbed $3.15, or 0.5%, to $616.35 an ounce, trimming its weekly loss to 0.7%.
Both metals are higher year to date with advances of 9.9% for platinum and 9.7% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices were mixed on Friday and for the week. In comparing their levels from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $6.75, or 0.5%, to $1,273 an ounce.
- Silver dipped 5 cents, or 0.3%, to $17.61 an ounce.
- Platinum rose $2, or 0.2%, to $972 an ounce.
- Palladium fell $1, or 0.2%, to $616 an ounce.
For the week, London palladium fell by 0.5% while other metal prices logged gains totaling 0.6% for both gold and silver and 4.9% for platinum.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
U.S. Mint bullion sales slowed from a week earlier — sharply for silver coins, but then their total last week was also the second highest since January. In week-over-week comparisons:
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Gold coins advanced 24,500 ounces after gaining 32,000 ounces previously. This week’s splits include 21,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles compared to 22,000 ounces previously and 3,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo compared to 10,000 ounces previously. American Eagle and Buffalo sales in October to date are the highest for a month since January.
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Silver coin sales advanced 252,500 ounces after soaring 1.33 million ounces previously. The weekly splits include 250,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles compared to 1.325 million ounces previously and 2,500 ounces in America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins compared to 5,000 ounces previously. Silver Eagle sales in October to date are the highest for a month since May.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion coins with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Sept Sales | Oct Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins* | – | 20,000 | ||||
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 19,000 | 17,500 | 79,000 | 94,000 | 659,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 5,000 | 7,000 | 63,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 16,000 | 16,000 | 132,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 85,000 | 70,000 | 770,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 10,000 | 3,500 | 17,500 | 25,500 | 174,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,325,000 | 250,000 | 1,675,000 | 3,670,000 | 34,250,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 105,000 | ||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 75,000 | ||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 200 | 0 | 200 | 200 | 36,500 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 800 | 500 | 2,000 | 3,100 | 32,600 |
