Precious metals futures climbed Friday and for the week. Gold extended its winning streak to eight straight sessions, ended at a more than fifteen-week high, and marked its best week of the year.
Gold for August delivery rose $3.40, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,346.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Feb 20 when the yellow metal ended at $1,347.90 an ounce.
"Investors are dropping the dollar index like a stone because of the concerns around the trade war," Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at ThinkMarkets, said in an emailed report according to Bloomberg News. "The initial reaction for the gold price has been towards upside, and overall investors are optimistic about the current upward momentum."
Gold futures traded 2.7% higher this week — their strongest week since the one ended March 23, 2018 — after previous weekly gains of 2.1% and 0.6%. They are 5.1% higher on the year to date. In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:
"Sixteen market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey. A total of 12 voters, or 75%, called for gold to rise. For the second straight week, no voters said lower, while four voters, or 25%, predicted a sideways market or were neutral.
Meanwhile, 607 respondents took part in an online Main Street poll, the most so far this year. A total of 398 voters, or 66%, called for gold to rise. Another 135, or 22%, predicted gold would fall. The remaining 74 voters, or 12%, saw a sideways market."
Elsewhere, silver for July delivery tacked on 12.6 cents, or 0.9%, to close at $15.031 an ounce. Silver futures traded 3.2% higher this week after edging up about 0.1% last week and 1.2% in the week before then. They are 3.3% lower on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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July platinum rose $2.40, or 0.3% to finish at $806.10 an ounce, for a 1.5% weekly increase.
- Palladium for September closed up $6.90, or 0.5%, to $1,356 an ounce, registering a 1.8% gain on the week.
Both are higher on the year so far with advances of 0.7% for platinum and 13.3% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices ended mostly higher on Friday and for the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold added $5.15, or 0.4%, to $1,340.65 an ounce.
- Silver shed 4.5 cents, or 0.3%, to $14.91 an ounce.
- Platinum rose $2, or 0.2%, to $804 an ounce.
- Palladium added $15, or 1.1%, to $1,356 an ounce.
In LBMA results for the week, palladium gave back 1% while the others gained — 3.5% for gold; 3% for silver, and 1.6% for platinum.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales picked up from a week ago. In headline week-over-week comparisons:
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Gold bullion coins moved up by 2,000 ounces after rising by 1,000 ounces previously. Sales last week came entirely from American Gold Eagles. Splits this week included 1,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 1,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalo.
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American Silver Eagle advanced by 223,500 compared to their increase last week of 140,000.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | Last Week | This Week / June | April | May | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 500 | 6,500 | 3,500 | 74,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 19,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 25,000 | 5,000 | 145,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 6,500 | 3,000 | 45,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 140,000 | 223,500 | 1,196,000 | 866,000 | 9,210,500 |
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 78,000 | 78,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | N/A | 80,000 | |||
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 6,500 | N/A | 40,000 | ||
With the USA-Mexico tariff/trade situation “solved” Friday hours after the market closed, gold should go down on Monday. Just a guess…
NumisdudeTX
Gold down $10.20 in early trading Monday morning. Where does it go from here?
NumisdudeTX
Big Boys are BLOWING out silver items, suspect they smell a new low…..
So true! Some are selling silver rounds/ingots for 29-cents over spot in larger quantities. Many silver analysts expect silver to drop even more this year.
NumisdudeTX