Precious metals, stocks and oil all rode a wave of gains for the week. The London gold fixing climbed 2.8 percent. Silver jumped 4.1 percent and platinum surged 5.8 percent.
U.S. stocks ended higher for the second straight week. Since last Friday’s close, the Dow rose 0.7%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.6% and the Nasdaq added 1.8%.
New York crude-oil for April delivery closed Friday to $51.06 a barrel, falling 55 cents, or 1.1 percent. However, oil gained 10.4 percent for the week.
For consumers, AAA said the average price for unleaded gasoline on Saturday was $1.950 a gallon compared to $1.949 a month ago and $3.271 a year ago.
Back to the precious metals front, London silver ended at $13.65 an ounce, gaining 54 cents since last Friday’s close.
London gold closed to $954.00 an ounce, increasing $26.00 for the week.
London platinum settled to $1,110.00 an ounce, rising $62.00 on the week.
"Given the actions of the Fed and other central banks, the dollar and various other currencies have lost their appeal as safe havens, potentially trigger[ing] further investment flows towards gold," James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com was quoted on MarketWatch.
"The dollar has always been one of the most important drivers for the gold market," Frank Lesh, a trader at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago was quoted on Bloomberg. "The dollar is oversold. If the dollar comes under pressure next week, gold can climb to $1,000 an ounce."
Silver, gold and platinum performance charts and tables follow as well as a Reuters weekly business recap video and related precious metal and business article links.
London Fix Charts: Silver, Gold and Platinum
(Mar. 13-20)
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 changes*
(Mar. 13-20)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
X
|
|
4.1%
|
$0.54
|
$13.65
|
| Gold |
X
|
|
2.8%
|
$26.00
|
$954.00
|
| Platinum |
X
|
|
5.9%
|
$62.00
|
$1110.00
|
(Mar. 6-13)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-2.6%
|
-$0.35
|
$13.11
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-0.9%
|
-$8.00
|
$928.00
|
| Platinum |
|
X
|
-2.1%
|
-$23.00
|
$1048.00
|
(Feb. 27 – Mar. 6)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
X
|
|
1.9%
|
$0.25
|
$13.46
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-1.7%
|
-$16.00
|
$936.00
|
| Platinum |
X
|
|
1.1%
|
$12.00
|
$1071.00
|
(Feb. 20 – Feb. 27)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-7.5%
|
-$1.07
|
$13.21
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-3.7%
|
-$37.00
|
$952.00
|
| Platinum |
|
X
|
-2.5%
|
-$27.00
|
$1059.00
|
(Feb. 13 – Feb. 20)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
X
|
|
3.7%
|
$0.48
|
$13.37
|
| Gold |
X
|
|
2.5%
|
$22.50
|
$935.50
|
| Platinum |
X
|
|
6.7%
|
$66.00
|
$1055.00
|
Bullion articles of interest
In related news, interesting or quick-read articles:
- Mar. 20 – Gold slips as dollar rises, but gains 2.8% in week – MarketWatch
Gold futures fell slightly Friday after rallying nearly 8% in the previous session, as a rebounding U.S. dollar reduced the metal’s investment appeal…
- Mar. 20 – Gold Falls in New York as Dollar Rebounds; Silver Advances – Bloomberg
Gold fell after the dollar rebounded, eroding the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment. Silver advanced…
- Mar. 20 – Modern Alchemy: Turning Gold Into Paper – Jon Nadler, Kitco
Friday’s action offered no more than a mixed bag of goodies for most markets. The greenback rose (last seen at 83.83 on the index) on account of the fact that some traders viewed the decline recorded…
- Mar. 20 – First Spouse Gold Coin Sales Figures – First Spouse Coins
Coin collectors shifted their attention to the newly released Anna Harrison gold coins, based on the most recent US Mint First Spouse Coin sales figures…
- Mar. 19 – US Mint Silver Coin Sales Stats – Silver Coins Today
Sales were a tad more quiet for the silver Lincoln Dollars compared to the last reported US Mint figures, but still extremely active…
- Mar. 19 – Lincoln Silver Dollar, Lincoln Cent & UHR Eagle Sales Figures – CoinNews
Lincoln Silver Dollar sales are still vigorous, the pace of Ultra High Relief (UHR) Eagle Gold coins picked up gently, and sales of the newly offered Lincoln Birthplace Cent are on fire…
Video: Business week and world stocks news – Reuters
Goldman Sachs said it did nothing wrong when it accepted almost $13 billion in payments from government-supported AIG. Friday numbers for the three major US indexes follow:
-
The Dow lost 122.42 points to close at 7,278.38.
-
The S&P 500 fell 15.50 points, closing to 768.54.
- The NASDAQ declined 26.21 points to finish at 1,457.27.
And in other world markets:
-
The German DAX rose 25.28 points to close at 4,068.74.
-
The Paris CAC 40 gained 14.15 points to close at 2,791.14.
- And the London FTSE 100 climbed 25.92 points to close at 3,842.85.
Conway Gittens reports from New York.
