Bullion & Business Weekend Report – Nov. 14

Precious metals were up and down through much of the week as the US dollar mostly set gold’s direction. While metal futures finished with higher weekly gains in New York, silver was the standout in London logging a 1.2% loss. Oil slipped to a one-month low Friday following weaker than expected US consumer confidence numbers. In stocks, European indexes ended mixed on Friday but higher on the week while US indexes were positive both ways, enjoying a second consecutive up week.

In London bullion weekly figures, gold rose 0.7 percent, silver fell 1.2 percent and platinum advanced 0.9 percent. Friday precious metals prices follow:

London silver closed to $17.32 an ounce, falling 20 cents from last Friday’s close. New York December silver futures ended at $17.38 for a weekly advance of a half penny.

London gold was fixed at $1,104.00 an ounce, rising $7.25 this week. New York gold for December delivery finished at $1,116.70 for five-day gain of $21.00.

London platinum ended at $1,359.00 an ounce, climbing $12.00 since last Friday’s close. New York platinum for January delivery ended at $1,388.70, surging $40.50 on the week.

Vietnam’s announcement that it lifted its ban on precious metal imports was also reported in helping bullion move higher. It "will add fresh impetus and demand into a historically pro-gold region," analysts at GoldCore wrote in note that was cited on MarketWatch.com.

"The dollar is a measure of risk aversion these days," Tom Pawlicki, an MF Global Inc. metals analyst in Chicago, was quoted on Bloomberg.com. "We still like the long-term prospects of the gold market, even though it is at risk in the short-run."

"For the moment, the speculative focus remains dollar-centric and is tracking the fallout from this morning’s economic stats but attention is slowly shifting towards pre-weekend book-squaring and speeches to be delivered by various Fed officials over coming days. The most anticipated one, of course, an address by Mr. Bernanke on Monday," wrote Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, Inc."

Gold, considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty, tends to follow oil and move opposite to the U.S. dollar. A rising greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities, like bullion, more expensive for holders of other world currencies.

To follow are silver, gold and platinum performance charts, oil news, week-ending world stock summaries, and precious metal article summaries.

London Fix Charts: Silver, Gold and Platinum
(Nov 6 – 13)

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*

Weekly World Business News: Oil, Gasoline, and Stocks Prices

Crude oil fell to a one-month low on Friday "after a weak gauge of U.S. consumer sentiment dimmed the outlook for energy demand, while the market still digested news of rising crude supplies" reported Nick Godt and Polya Lesova of MarketWatch.com.

"The market is honing in on all the bearish news that’s out there," Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut, said on Bloomberg.com. "For the last four to six weeks there’s been some positive economic news, but there’s no evidence that demand has improved."

New York oil for December delivery fell 59 cents, or 0.8 percent, to close at $76.35 a barrel. For the week, oil dropped $1.08, or 1.4 percent.

Prices at the pump fell sixth-tenths of a cent from Friday to Saturday. The national average for unleaded gasoline was $2.639 a gallon, according to a AAA fuel report. The price is 3.5 cents less than last week, 15.2 cents higher than a month back, and 48.7 cents more than a year ago.

U.S. stocks rallied Friday following the previous day’s slide "as key corporate earnings from consumer names helped offset news that sentiment remained shaky among U.S. consumers," wrote Peter McKay of MarketWatch.com.

"We were in the second-worst bear market for the Dow since 1900," Jeffrey Hirsch, an analyst at Stock Trader’s Almanac, was quoted on CNNMoney.com. "It’s not overly surprising that there’s some bounceback."

For the week, the Dow rose 2.5 percent, the S&P advanced 2.3 percent, and the Nasdaq climbed 2.6 percent.

Friday figures for the three major US indexes follow:

• The Dow rose 73 points to close at 10,270.47.

• The S&P increased 6.24 points, closing at 1,093.48.

• The NASDAQ climbed 18.86 points to finish at 2,167.88.

And in other world markets, indexes recorded weekly gains but ended mixed on Friday as the following figures show:

• The German DAX advanced 22.87 points to close at 5,686.83.

• The Paris CAC 40 fell 2.06 points, to close at 3,806.01.

• And the London FTSE 100 jumped 19.88 points to finish at 5,296.38.

There was a little more optimism about the holiday shopping season after JC Penney’s upbeat guidance, but a surprise drop in consumer sentiment kept optimism in check. Conway Gittens of Reuters reports on this, world stocks and other business news in the following video.

Bullion and Business Articles

In related silver and gold news, interesting or quick-read articles from the week include:

• Gold futures build on gains as dollar falls back – MarketWatch
  Gold futures finished the session up almost 1% Friday, and gained almost 2% on the week, receiving a lift as the dollar weakened and on news that Vietnam lifted a ban on imports of the precious metal. The dollar came under renewed pressure Friday as upbeat earnings news from Walt Disney Co. helped …

• Gold, Silver Rally as Dollar Falls, Boosting Demand for Metals – Bloomberg
  Gold prices climbed to a second weekly gain as the dollar fell against the euro, boosting demand for alternative assets. Silver also rose. The dollar slipped as much as 0.6 percent against the euro. Bullion usually gains when the U.S. currency declines. Gold futures reached a record $1,123.40 an ounce yesterday …

• They Get a Kick From Champagne – Jon Nadler, Kitco
  Friday the 13th did not prove unlucky, at least as far as the “Old World” is concerned. The NY Times reported this morning that: “The 16-country euro zone has officially joined the United States and Japan out of recession, after figures showed its economy grew by 0.4 percent in the third quarter from the previous …"

• Double Eagles and Eagles Rise – CoinNews
  Gold coins are again the major talking points coming out of the latest US Mint sales data. Buffalo gold proof numbers are less spectacular than those from last week’s report. But they are far from shabby and a retreat from the earlier blazing sales was to be expected. Standing out also were Ultra High Reliefs, bullion Eagles, Braille dollars and the Mint’s traditional annual sets. All improved over the prior week. Our bullet point analysis follows: …

• First Spouse Coin Sales Decline, Price an Issue – First Spouse Coins
  The weekly London Fix gold average jumped, reaching the next rung on the US Mint’s pricing slide rule. As a result, expect the US Mint to increase First Spouse Gold Coin prices by $25 sometime before noon on Thursday. According to Mint policy, the prices will be $729 for the proofs and $716 for each uncirculated. Those will be never-before-seen, all-time highs …

• 2009 Silver Sales Rise, Braille to Go – Silver Coins Today
  The 2009 Silver Proof Set not only recovered from its recent dip, but it again garnered the most attention in the realm of numismatic silver products, the latest US Mint weekly coin sales reveal. The silver proof set rose by 9,586 to mark a more than 2K improvement over last week’s reported 7,455. The set is at 558,388, accounting for …

• Silver Eagles’ Secondary Market Analysis – CoinNews
  Bullion 2009 American Silver Eagle coin sales have been on fire this year. Eight of ten months were “best ever” records. 2009 has already been crowned the top-selling year of all-time, and that was back in early October. For a series which began in 1986, nothing underscores the demand for the silver eagles better. Their values in the upper grades are …

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