Gold Scores Fourth Weekly Win, Ends Above Six-Year High

Gold and silver futures rallied Friday, with the former closing at a more than 6.3-year high and the latter ending above a 1.5-year high.

Gold for December delivery on Friday tacked on $29.10, or 1.9%, to settle at $1,537.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since April 11, 2013 when gold ended at $1,564.90 an ounce.

In addition to escalated trade tensions between the U.S. and China, safe-havens saw support following a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

"The fact that he (Powell) said that they (the Fed) will act appropriately to sustain expansion is pretty bullish for gold. The two primary tools they have are quantitative easing (QE) or lower rates — both those tools will cause gold to go higher," Reuters quoted Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

Gold futures traded 0.9% higher this week, scoring their fourth straight weekly increase. The yellow metal is 20% higher on the year.

In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:

"This week 15 market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey. A total of 10 voters, or 67%, called for gold to be higher. The results showed that four participants, or 27%, anticipated neutral price action next week. There was one vote, or 6%, which called for lower prices next week.

Meanwhile, 866 respondents took part in an online Main Street poll. A total of 524 voters, or 54%, called for gold to rise. Another 183, or 25%, predicted gold would fall. The remaining 159 voters, or 21%, saw a sideways market."

Elsewhere, silver for September delivery surged 37.3 cents, or 2.2%, to close at $17.413 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since silver ended at $17.441 an ounce on Jan. 26, 2018. Silver futures advanced 1.7% this week for their third weekly gain. The precious metal is 12.1% higher on the year so far.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

• October platinum shed $6.60, or 0.8%, to $855.30 an ounce, but gained 0.5% on the week.

• Palladium for September dropped $30.90, or 2.1%, to $1,454.30 an ounce, but registered a 0.9% weekly increase.

Both are higher on the year to date with gains of 6.8% for platinum and 21.5% for palladium.

London Precious Metals Prices

London precious metals prices divided on Friday and for the week. In comparing the latest day-over-day PM prices:

• Gold rose 95 cents, or 0.06%, to $1,503 an ounce.
• Silver added 9 cents, or 0.5%, to $17.05 an ounce.
• Platinum fell $4, or 0.5%, to $851 an ounce.
• Palladium lost $13, or 0.9%, to $1,478 an ounce.

In LBMA weekly results, gold declined 0.8%, silver fell 0.6%, platinum rose 2.2% and palladium added 1.4%.

US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales

United States Mint bullion sales picked up for a second week in a row. In week-over-week comparisons:

• For a second straight week, gold bullion sales came entirely from American Gold Eagles. The coins climbed by 2,500 ounces this week after rising by 2,000 ounces last week.

• American Silver Eagles advanced by 647,000 ounces this week after rising by 222,000 ounces last week.

• Five-ounce America the Beautiful silver coins rose by a combined 32,500 ounces following two weeks of silence.

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.