Precious metals swapped positions this week, breaking away from a prior four-week trend where platinum gained as gold and silver declined. For this week, London gold gained 4.3 percent, silver soared 6.76 percent, and platinum dropped 3.3 percent. Oil futures rallied Friday to push above $50 a barrel, gaining 2.4 percent on the week. Declines for the blue-chip Dow and the S&P snapped a six-week winning streak, but the Nasdaq is now up for week seven.
Spot precious metals figures follow:
London silver ended Friday at $12.78 an ounce, surging 80 cents this week.
London gold was fixed at $907.50 an ounce, gaining $37.00 for the week.
London platinum fell to $1,175.00 an ounce, falling $40.00 on the week.
"Gold has been given a further boost on the back of the China reserve news," James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, was quoted on MarketWatch. "But the metal now needs to clear trend-line resistance around $916 to confirm the return of more bullish sentiment and target the $940 area."
According to news reports, China has purchased 454 tons of gold over the past five years for its reserves allocation.
"This [China] news is highly significant for the gold market," John Reade, UBS AG’s head metals strategist in London, was quoted on Bloomberg. "It will raise expectations of further Chinese purchases. It may also trigger purchases from other central banks."
To follow are silver, gold and platinum performance charts and tables, precious metal article links, oil news and week-ending world stock summaries.
London Fix Charts: Silver, Gold and Platinum
(April 17 – April 24)
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*
(April 17 – April 24)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
X
|
|
6.7%
|
$0.80
|
$12.78
|
| Gold |
X
|
|
4.3%
|
$37.00
|
$907.50
|
| Platinum |
|
X
|
-3.3%
|
-$40.00
|
$1175.00
|
(April 9 – April 17)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-2.6%
|
-$0.32
|
$11.98
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-1.1%
|
-$10.00
|
$870.50
|
| Platinum |
X
|
|
1.7%
|
$20.00
|
$1215.00
|
(April 3 – April 9)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Thursday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-4.4%
|
-$0.56
|
$12.30
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-2.7%
|
-$24.50
|
$880.50
|
| Platinum |
X
|
|
3.1%
|
$36.00
|
$1195.00
|
(March 27 – April 3)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-2.7%
|
-$0.36
|
$12.86
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-2.1%
|
-$19.00
|
$905.00
|
| Platinum |
X
|
|
2.5%
|
$28.00
|
$1159.00
|
(Mar. 20-27)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-3.2%
|
-$0.43
|
$13.22
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-3.1%
|
-$30.00
|
$924.00
|
| Platinum |
X
|
|
1.9%
|
$21.00
|
$1131.00
|
Bullion articles of interest
In related news, interesting or quick-read articles:
- April 24 – Gold rises on China reserves; copper tumbles in week – MarketWatch
Gold futures rose Friday, marking their first week of gains in five, boosted by news that China has nearly doubled its gold reserves since 2003 to the world’s fifth largest…
- April 24 – Gold Climbs to Three-Week High on China Purchases; Silver Gains – Bloomberg
Gold futures jumped to a three-week high in New York, marking the first weekly gain in a month, as China increased purchases of the metal. Silver also rose…
- April 24 – 91 Tonnes of Gold [per annum] on the [Great] Wall… – Jon Nadler, Kitco
Gold prices underwent a fourth weekly decline, making this their longest losing streak since August of 2008. The global rally in equities has bitten into the enthusiasm with which takers were willing to…
- April 23 – First Spouse Gold Coin Sales Figures – First Spouse Coins
First Spouse Gold Coin sales returned to a more normalized flow after last week’s report showed negative 0.9 percent to 2.5 percent declines across all but the Anna Harrison coins…
- April 23 – US Silver Coin Sales Stats – Silver Coins Today
Interest in Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollars picked up over the prior sales stats, but demand for other silver coins and sets waned for the third straight week, according to the newest United States Mint sales figures…
- April 23 – Lincoln, Braille & UHR Sales Figures – CoinNews
Ultra High Relief (UHR) $20 gold coin sales were near identical to those reported last week, based on the latest round of US Mint sales figures. Another 1,300 have been sold, bringing the new total to 58,318…
Reports on world business, oil prices and stocks
Crude-oil for June delivery ended higher Friday by $1.93, or 0.7 percent, to finish at $51.55 a barrel. For the week, oil gained $1.22, or 2.4%.
For consumers, gas prices at the pump headed down slightly this week. AAA said the average price Saturday for unleaded gasoline was $2.054 a gallon, which is one-tenth of a cent less than a week ago.
In U.S. stock this week, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.7 percent and the S&P 500 index fell 0.4 percent. The Nasdaq Composite, however, gained 1.3 percent. European stocks ended mixed as well.
Friday numbers for the three major US indexes follow:
-
The Dow gained 119.23 points to close at 8,076.29.
-
The S&P 500 rose 14.31 points, closing to 866.23.
- The NASDAQ climbed 42.08 points to finish at 1,694.29.
And in other world markets:
-
The German DAX jumped 136.11 points to close at 4,674.32.
-
The Paris CAC 40 gained 94.23 points to close at 3,102.85.
- And the London FTSE 100 rose 137.76 points to close at 4,155.99.
Preliminary results of the Treasury’s bank stress test did little to offset optimism sparked by earnings and two less than dire economic reports. Conway Gittens reports on that and stocks in a weekly Reuters business summary. SOUNDBITE: Ted Weisberg, Vice President, Seaport Securities.
