Gold, Silver End Week at New 3-1/2 Month Highs

Gold and silver futures advanced for a second straight session Friday, notching fresh 3-1/2 months and extending their streak of weekly wins to four for gold and eight for silver.

Gold for April delivery rose $6.90, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,258.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since Nov. 10 when the yellow metal ended at $1,266.40 an ounce.

"We’ve got a vacuum of (U.S. domestic) policy, real (interest) rates going down, the dollar going sideways and geopolitical (jitters) around the world … all helping gold," Reuters quoted ICBC Standard Bank analyst Tom Kendall. "There is apparently a move of institutional investor money into gold and there are usually very good reasons for that."

Gold futures traded 1.6% higher this week following three previous weekly advances of 0.3%, 1.2% and 2.7%. They leapt 9.3% through the first eight weeks of this year.

In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street survey:

"Twenty traders and analysts took part in a weekly Wall Street survey. Thirteen voters, or 65%, see gold prices rising by next Friday. Two, or 10%, said lower, while five voters, or 25%, are neutral or look for a sideways market.

Meanwhile, 974 respondents took part in a Main Street online survey. A total of 661 participants, or 68%, called for gold to rise, while 221, or 23%, saw lower prices. The remaining 92 voters, or 9%, were neutral."

Elsewhere, silver for March delivery climbed 22.2 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $18.339 an ounce. The close is the highest since Nov. 10 when prices ended at $18.737 an ounce. Silver futures gained 1.7% this week and they are 14.7% higher on the year so far. 

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

• April platinum tacked on $16.80, or 1.7%, to $1,028.70 an ounce, for a 2.3% weekly increase.

• Palladium for June delivery declined $1.65, or 0.2%, to $772.95 an ounce, slipping this week by 0.8%.

London Precious Metals Prices

London precious metals prices ended higher on Friday and mixed on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:

• Gold added $5.75, or 0.5%, to $1,253.65 an ounce.
• Silver gained 27 cents, or 1.5%, to $18.27 an ounce.
• Platinum added $13, or 1.3%, to $1,027 an ounce.
• Palladium gained $7, or 0.9%, to $786 an ounce.

For the week in London metal prices, palladium lost 0.9% while the others registered increases of 0.9% for gold, 1.5% for silver, and 1.7% for platinum.

US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2017

U.S. Mint bullion orders retreated this week for both gold and silver coins. In the latest week-over-week comparisons:

• Gold coins added 5,500 ounces after rising by 11,000 ounces last week. Sales splits include 3,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles versus 6,500 ounces previously and 2,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins compared to 4,500 ounces previously.

• Silver coins added 158,000 ounces after rising by 365,000 ounces last week. This week’s splits include 155,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles compared to 360,000 ounces previously and 3,000 ounces in Effigy Mounds America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins versus 5,000 ounces previously.

Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.