Precious metals were dragged down across the board for two consecutive weeks with gold experiencing the worst of it with its third weekly drop. The largest driving force for the loses continued to be the US dollar’s continuing strength.
Although it was briefly tested with the Fed’s quarter-point interest rate drop Wednesday, the dollar pulled back and precious metals followed in the opposite direction.
Silver, gold and platinum slumped on the London Fix for Monday through Friday with a loss of $0.75, $39 and $91 respectively.
Silver closed down this week by 4.4% to $16.19 an ounce compared to last Friday’s close of $16.68. Platinum dropped by 4.6% to $1,878 an ounce compared to its previous Friday close of $1,951.
Gold surged up by nearly 2% after the Fed’s Wednesday rate change. However, it dropped back down Thursday and just slightly recovered Friday. It lost $39 this week to close at $854 an ounce. Last Friday London gold closed at $892 an ounce.
“The better than expected US jobs data and the unexpected 1.4% jump in March factory orders swiftly knocked gold down toward the $840’s early in the day (Friday), but the metal regained a bit of composure as news of a renewed liquidity injection effort by the ECB, The Fed, and the Swiss National Bank lifted speculative spirits in the bull camp," said senior analyst Jon Nadler at Kitco Bullion Dealers.
The silver, gold and platinum weekly charts and comparisons from last week are below. The weekly business recap video from Reuters and three related precious metal articles links are included as well.
CoinNews London Fix Charts: Silver, Gold and Platinum
(April 28 – May 2)
The London Fix is one of the most used bullion quotes around the world. The London AM fix for gold and platinum begins at 10:30am GMT (5:30am in New York), and the PM fix begins at 3pm GMT (10am in New York). The London Fix for silver begins each business day at 12pm GMT (7am in New York).
London Fix figures: percent and dollar change after Friday’s close
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-4.4%
|
-$0.75
|
$16.19
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-4.3%
|
-$39
|
$854
|
| Platinum |
|
X
|
-4.6%
|
-$91
|
$1,878
|
Week change numbers are for Monday-Friday.
London Fix: previous week figures
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-6.6%
|
-$1.18
|
$16.68
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-2.6%
|
-$24.25
|
$892
|
| Platinum |
|
X
|
-3.9%
|
-$79
|
$1,951
|
Week change numbers are for Monday-Friday.
Bullion and business related articles for the week
In related news, interesting or quick-read articles:
- May 2 – Gold futures close with a weekly loss
Gold futures recovered some of their recent losses to finish higher Friday, but the metals contract still ended the week with a loss…
- May 2 – Gold Heads for Longest Losing Streak in a Year as Dollar Gains
Gold headed for a third consecutive weekly drop, its longest losing streak in a year, as the dollar strengthened against the euro, diminishing the appeal of the metal as a currency hedge.
- May 2 – Feeble Friday Finale, Jon Nadler
Friday’s gold market action saw a bit more stability in prices, following an early morning dip to fresh four-month lows on the heels of US unemployment data.
Business week overview and wrap-up by Reuters News
U.S. stocks ended in mixed fashion as a report showing modest job losses in April soothed economic jitters, but a surprise loss at SunMicrosystems hampered tech stocks.
The three major US indexes:
-
The Dow gained 48.20 points to close at 13,058.20 Friday. For the week the Dow bounced up 1.3%.
-
The S&P 500 climbed 4.56 points Friday to close at 1,413.90.
- The Nasdaq lost 3.72 points Friday to finish at 2,476.99. It improved by 2.2% for the week.
Speaker: Mark Vitner, senior economist, Wachovia. Conway Gittens reports from New York and recaps the business week.
CoinNews bullion and finance related collector tools
Bullion and finance tools that may interest you:
Please wait until up day for precious metals price. Sometime there is down day for price, it is good time to buy Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Palladium. Then it will come the up day for precious metals.