Bullion & Business Weekend Report – May 24

Precious metals enjoyed positive gains for the week following record energy prices and a weaker U.S. dollar.

London Platinum closed to $2,182 an ounce, which was up $46 compared to its previous Friday close.

Silver climbed Friday to $18.10 an ounce, up a blazing $1.27 compared to last week’s close.

And Gold shot up to $928 an ounce, up $31 over last Friday. What continues to strain the dollar and help push gold up? Crude prices and,

“Poor home sales and inventory data continued to weigh on the greenback as they underscore that however shallow this contraction may be, the U.S. is now in its 27th month of the rout in housing, with another possible six to twelve to go,” said Jon Nadler, a senior analyst 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
(May 19-23)

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

London Fix: previous week figures

London Fix: two weeks previous

London Fix: three weeks previous

Bullion and business related articles for the week

In related news, interesting or quick-read articles:

• May 23 – Gold futures scores a nearly 3% gain on week – MarketWatch
  "With increasing doubts about the sustainability of the recent rebound of the dollar and of global stock markets, safe haven demand for gold is likely to reaccelerate in the coming weeks," said Mark O’Byrne, a director at Gold and Silver Investments Ltd., in a note to clients.

• May 23 – Gold ends firmer on oil gains, bargain hunting – Reuters
  Gold bounced on Friday, capping a week of solid gains on the back of a sharp crude oil rally and after a drop from a one-month high spurred buying from bargain hunters.

• May 23 – Rocket Ride Rhodium – Jon Nadler
  New York spot trading was rather dull during this final session of the week, showing a $4.00 gain at last check, quoted at $924.50 per ounce. Nonetheless, the yellow metal gained nearly 3% on the week as the dollar took its largest dip since March.

Business week overview and wrap-up by Reuters News

Record fuel prices and fears of inflation give U.S. markets their worst week in 3 months. Crude oil ended the day at $131.7 a barrel.

The three major US indexes:

• The Dow lost 145.99 points to close at 12,479.63 Friday. For the week the Dow lost nearly 4%.

• The S&P 500 lost 18.42 points Friday to close at 1,375.93.

• The Nasdaq lost 19.91 points Friday to finish at 2,444.67. It lost over 3% for the week.

In other world markets:

• The German DAX lost 126.28 points to close at 6,944.05.

• The Paris CAC 40 lost 94.97 to close at 4,933.77.

• And the London FTSE 100 dropped 94.3 points to close at 6,087.3.
• .

Manoush Zomorodi reports.

CoinNews bullion and finance related collector tools

Bullion and finance tools that may interest you:

• Financial News & Resources
• Live Silver, Gold and Platinum spots
• Silver Coin Calculator with charts
• International Currency Converter
• Inflation Calculator