Most precious metals futures declined Friday but most of them still advanced on the week. Gold and silver were among the losers on the day, slipping from multi-month highs.
Gold for February delivery declined $9.80, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,258.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The metal has enjoyed a strong inverse relationship with the greenback throughout 2018, and the relationship is playing out today," MarketWatch quoted David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets.
"The metal has been driving higher since mid-August, and a break above the $1,265 region, might bring $1,284 into play," he said.
Gold futures advanced 1.4% this week after slipping 0.4% last week. On Thursday, they ended at their best price since June 25. The yellow metal is 3.9% lower on the year to date.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery fell 16.7 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $14.702 an ounce. Silver futures rose 0.4% this week after falling 0.4% last week. On Thursday, the precious metal marked its best close since Aug. 14. Silver is 14.3% lower on the year so far.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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January platinum finished unchanged at $795.80 an ounce, but gained 1.3% on the week.
- Palladium for March delivery sank $33.20, or 2.8%, to $1,158.70 an ounce, for a 1.1% weekly loss. On Wednesday, palladium ended at a record of $1,201.30 an ounce.
The two remain divided on the year with platinum 15.2% lower and palladium 9.2% higher.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices ended lower Friday and higher on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold declined $1.60, or 0.1%, to $1,258.15 an ounce.
- Silver lost 8 cents, or 0.5%, to $14.69 an ounce.
- Platinum dipped $1, or 0.1%, to $790 an ounce.
- Palladium declined $29, or 2.3%, to $1,242 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, gains reached 1.9% for gold, 0.8% for both silver and platinum, and 0.7% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
Sales of United States Mint bullion products were steady for silver coins and down for gold coins. In headline week-over-week comparisons:
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Sales of gold bullion coins were flat this week after advancing 3,500 ounces last week with splits of 2,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 1,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
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Silver bullion coins rose this week by 100,000 ounces, the same amount as last week. For a third week in a row, sales came entirely from American Silver Eagles.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | Last Week | This Week | November | December | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 16,000 | 2,000 | 190,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 230,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 0 | 5,500 | 1,500 | 121,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 100,000 | 100,000 | 1,645,000 | 350,000 | 15,560,000 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Cumberland Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,500 |
| Block Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 | 0 | 80,000 |
