Bullion Prices & Business Weekend Recap – June 19, 2010

U.S. gold closed to a record high for a second day on Friday, capping its fourth straight week of gains. The yellow metal rode a tide of safe-haven buying as weak U.S. economic data and continued European debt woes lifted uncertainty about a global recovery.

New York gold for August delivery advanced $9.60, or 0.8 percent, to $1,258.30, handily topping Thursday’s record close of $1,248.70 an ounce.

"People are tired of their 0% T-bills, afraid of the stock market and afraid of the double-dip recession," James Cordier, a portfolio manager at OptionSellers.com in Tampa, Fla. was quoted on MarketWatch. "People are pouring into gold even at this high level."

All metals rallied during for the week, as did crude oil which finished at its highest level in a month. In world stocks and despite nervous tensions, major European and U.S. indexes posted weekly gains ranging between 1.69 percent and 3.70 percent.

In New York precious metals weekly prices, August gold jumped $28.10, or 2.3 percent, to end at the aforementioned $1,258.30 an ounce price. Its highest intraday point was $1,263.70.

"The problems over in Europe are just as pernicious over here in the U.S.," Michael Pento, the chief economist at Delta Global Advisors Inc., said on Bloomberg. "You can’t trust sovereign debt and sovereign currency. Gold is the only real honest money that we have."

New York silver for July delivery soared 95.3 cents, or 5.2 percent, to $19.184 an ounce. July platinum ended up $52.00, or 3.4 percent, to $1,587.00 an ounce. September palladium soared $42.85, or 9.6 percent, to close at $491.40 an ounce.

"Sovereign debt worries, central banks raising their holdings and record low interest rates keep attracting new buyers to gold," Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen, said on Reuters. "The Goldilocks scenario continues. Risk-off helps gold through safe haven (buying), risk-on helps it as well through a weaker dollar."

In London bullion weekly prices, gold was fixed to $1,256.00 an ounce, advancing $36.00, or 3.0 percent. Silver added 46.0 cents, or 2.5 percent to $18.770 an ounce.

"Gold prices broke above the $1252 resistance zone and surged ahead to near $1260 the ounce, well ahead of the New York market’s opening on Friday. As mentioned, the momentum-fueled move took place despite apparently ameliorating conditions in investor in risk appetite and in perceptions about the eurozone crisis," noted Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, Inc.

"This past week has brought about gold price moves which one can argue are now disconnected from news on the euro, the dollar, oil, equities, the debt problems in Europe, the global economic recovery, and/or practically anything else one cares to think about. Not to mention internal market fundamentals"

In PGM metals, platinum settled at $1,578.00 an ounce, gaining $39.00, or 2.5 percent while palladium was $484.00 an ounce, soaring $35.00, or 7.8 percent.

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

London Fix Charts: Silver, Gold, Platinum and Palladium

(June 11 – 18)

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 Precious Metals Prices

World Business News: Oil, Gasoline, and Stocks Prices

Crude oil rose on Friday "having wavered along with U.S. equity markets, while oil traders’ concerns about the danger of slowing Chinese demand and longer-term deepwater supply risks weighed on Brent crude and products," wrote Robert Gibbons from Reuters.

"We’re following the stock market and we’re following the dollar," Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago, said on Bloomberg. "Oil has no personality of its own today. It’s just going to follow what everybody else does."

New York crude oil for July delivery advanced 39 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $77.18 a barrel. Oil prices surged $3.40, or 4.6 percent, this week after gaining $2.27 a barrel last week.

Prices at the pump jumped a penny between Friday and Saturday. The national average for regular unleaded gasoline is $2.729 a gallon, according to a AAA fuel report. The price is 2.7 cents higher than last week, 11.1 cents lower than a month back, and 3.9 cents more than a year ago.

U.S. stocks "ground higher in another lightly traded session on Friday, ending a nervous week with gains despite signs of economic weakness at home and worries about public debt in Europe," wrote Edward Krudy from Reuters.

"It’s going to be pretty choppy until the next big monthly jobs report comes out and the second-quarter earnings start in," Ron Kiddoo, chief investment officer at Cozad Asset Management, said on CNNMoney.com.

Friday closing figures for the three major US indexes follow:

• The Dow added 16.47 points, or 0.16 percent, to 10,450.64.

• The S&P advanced 1.47 points, or 0.13 percent, to finish at 1,117.51.

• The NASDAQ ended up 2.64 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,309.80.

For the week, the Dow rose 2.35 percent, the S&P added 2.37 percent and the Nasdaq advanced 2.95 percent.

And in other world markets on Friday:

• The German DAX declined 6.56 points to 6,216.98.

• The Paris CAC 40 rose 4.13 points to end at 3,687.21.

• The London FTSE 100 fell 3.05 points to close at 5,250.84.

For the week, the DAX gained 2.80 percent, the CAC 40 soared 3.70 percent and the FTSE 100 advanced 1.69 percent.

BP is looking to several banks for $7 billion in loans, according to several sources. In market action: Wall Street eeked out a small gain. Conway G. Gittens reports on these topics, heavy machine company Caterpillar, iPhone maker Apple, and European markets in the following Reuters video.

Bullion and Business Articles

In related bullion, business and United States Mint news, interesting or quick-read articles from the week include:

• 310,000 Fractional 2010 Gold Eagles Sold in 5 Days
  Debuting last Thursday, the 22-karat 2010 American Eagle Gold Bullion Fractional Coins are off to a brisk pace according to the most recent coin sales figures released by the United States Mint.

  An impressive 310,000 were sold during the first five days amounting to 48,500 ounces of gold. A look at the individual coins sales are…

• Gold Coins, Lincoln Cents and Annual Sets Rally
  United States Mint fractional bullion American Gold Eagles sprinted out of the gate, while old and new Lincoln cents and annual collector sets jumped over their prior weekly sales with sharp gains.

  In the case of 2010 fractional Gold Eagles, pent-up demand was minimized by their much earlier launch as compared to the fiery 2009s, but opening 5-day sales already have them well on their way to topping all sizes sold in 2008. The 240,000 that buyers purchased of the least expensive 1/10 ounce Gold Eagle is just 30,001 short from surpassing sales in both 2008 and 2009.

• Consumer Prices Drop 0.2% in May, Annual Inflation Up 2.0%
  The cost of living in the U.S. declined in May for the second month in a row as energy prices retreated, the government reported Thursday.

  The Consumer Price Index, the most closely watched indicator for inflation, fell 0.2% in May after edging 0.1 lower in April, the Labor Department said. Flat food costs and lower energy bills led by plunging gasoline prices aided in trimming U.S. consumer prices.