Gold and Silver Prices Soar in October, Mark Third Month of Gains

Precious metals rallied for a second consecutive day on Friday as the U.S dollar dipped and gold prices surged toward $1,360 an ounce. The yellow metal capped its third straight monthly gain and has posted six weekly increases in seven weeks.

Speculation that the Fed will weaken the greenback with a second round of monetary easing supported gold. Prices shot up 2.5 percent this week after falling 3.4 percent last week. Other metals gained as well. Silver and palladium soared. Silver surged 6.3 percent this week and reached a fresh 30-year high. Palladium jumped 9.1 percent for the week and hit a 10-year high.

In U.S. stocks, the major indexes were mixed but closed nearly unchanged from last Friday. For the month, however, they soared between 3 and 6 percent.

Returning to U.S. bullion prices, gold futures for December delivery rallied $15.10, or 1.1 percent, to close at $1,357.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"The Fed meeting next week has been dominating the markets," Standard Bank analyst Walter de Wet, was cited on Reuters. "Ahead of that, people have positioned themselves, and from an investment perspective they are not going to add too much more gold.

"We think the gold market has priced in around a $500 billion QE exercise by the Fed," he added. "If the Fed comes out with a higher figure, we think gold will move higher. If it’s lower, it is going to be bearish for gold."

Gold advanced $32.50 this week. It gained $48.00, or 3.7 percent, in October. The metal rose 4.7 percent in September and 5.6 percent in August.

December silver jumped 68.9 cents, or 2.9 percent, to close at $24.564 an ounce. Its weekly pick up of $1.446 was the best since mid-February. Silver also registered its third straight monthly increase. It rallied 12.6 percent in October, 12.3 percent in September and 7.9 percent in August.

Silver continues to outperform gold, with the latest silver-to-gold ratio falling to 55.27. In contrast, the ratio was near 66 in June.

In other New York futures prices, January platinum added $15.10, or 0.9 percent, to $1,707.10 an ounce. It rose 1.9 percent this week and 2.9 percent in October.

Finally, the best precious metals performer was palladium. December palladium advanced $15.65, or 2.5 percent, to $645.10 an ounce. The metal soared 12.9 percent in October and 13.8 percent in September.

In London bullion weekly prices, the benchmark gold Fix price was $1,346.75 an ounce, up $24.25 or 1.8 percent. It gained 3.0 percent in October.

A "broad ranges and of pre-guessing the US Fed unfolded in the precious metals complex, most of it being subject once again to the fluctuations in the US dollar," Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, Inc., wrote Friday morning. "Markets were eagerly awaiting US GDP and consumer sentiment data but, to be fair, most of the ebb and flow in trading sentiment was still being dominated by one overriding preoccupation; that of what the Fed might (or might not) announce on Wednesday," Nadler added.

Silver was fixed at $23.960 an ounce for a weekly increase of 91.0 cents, or 3.9 percent. Silver advanced 8.6 percent this month.

In London PGM metals, platinum was up $27.00, or 1.6 percent, this week to $1,700.00 an ounce. It rose 2.3 percent in October. The palladium fixing was $640.00 an ounce for a weekly gain of $54.00, or 9.2%. It soared 11.7 percent in October.

U.S. Mint Gold and Silver Bullion Coin Sales

U.S. Mint bullion coins sales started the week strong but then weakened. Most noticeable, American Silver Eagles froze in place after jumping 250,000 on Monday. With additions this week, however, October Silver Eagle and the one-ounce Gold Eagle sales have already topped their respective monthly totals from September and August.

For always up-to-date coinage figures, visit the CoinNews.net page listing bullion coin sales.

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

London Fix Charts: Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium

(October 22-29)

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).

30-Day London Fix Precious Metals Prices

Business News: Oil, Gasoline, and Stock Prices

Crude oil prices dipped Friday after data from the Commerce Department showed timid economic growth during the third quarter as the gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2%. Traders were reportedly cautious before next week’s Fed meeting, which was a topic of discussion across markets.

"Oil prices have been getting a lot of support from the Fed’s possible quantitative easing move, but if the market is less than impressed with what the Fed has to say next week, oil could fall pretty hard," Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago, said and was quoted on Bloomberg.

U.S. crude futures for December delivery settled down 75 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $81.43 a barrel. The loss pushed oil into the red for the week as prices fell 26 cents, or 0.32 percent. In October, however, oil surged $1.46, or 1.8 percent, after soaring 11.2 percent in September.

Prices at the pump declined one-tenth of a cent between Friday and Saturday. The national average for regular unleaded gasoline is $2.808 a gallon, according to the daily AAA fuel report. The price is 1.3 cents lower than last week, 11.9 cents more than the price from a month back, and 11.3 cents higher than a year ago.

U.S. stocks were mixed for a third straight Friday and continued their recent trend of very narrow daily changes. Some analysts expect a wild ride next week with midterm elections and the Fed’s monetary policy announcement in play.

"It will probably be a very volatile and very active market because there are a lot of moving parts," John Praveen, chief investment strategist of Prudential International Investments Advisers LLC in Newark, New Jersey, was quoted on Reuters in an article titled: "Stocks’ week of reckoning arrives."

Friday closing figures for the three major U.S. indexes follow:

• The Dow edged higher 4.54 points, or 0.04 percent, to 11,118.49.

• The S&P 500 retreated 0.52 points, or 0.04 percent, to close at 1,183.26.

• The NASDAQ rose 0.04 points to 2,507.41.

For the week the Dow lost 0.13 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.02 percent, and the Nasdaq climbed 1.13 percent. For the month, the Dow gained 3.06 percent, the S&P 500 advanced 3.69 percent, and the Nasdaq surged 5.86 percent.

And in other world markets on Friday:

• The German DAX gained 6.09 points to 6,601.37.

• The Paris CAC 40 lost 1.34 points to settle at 3,833.50.

• The London FTSE 100 declined 2.73 points to 5,675.16.

For the week, the DAX declined 0.07 percent, the CAC 40 fell 0.91 percent and the FTSE 100 edged down 1.15 percent.

U.S. Week Ahead Business Video by Reuters

The Fed’s FOMC meets on Tuesday and Wednesday and is expected to announce a new round of quantitative easing. The U.S. nonfarm payrolls report on Friday for October is expected to show growth for the first time since May. And earnings reports for media giants News Corp and Time Warner will be out. These topics and more are covered in the following Reuters’ "The week ahead" business video:

Bullion and Economic Articles

In related bullion coin news, quick-read articles from the week included:

• Bullion Gold Coins Surge, Silver Quarters Sell Out
  The latest U.S. Mint sales figures show greater demand for bullion gold coins, clad sets and silver sets. On the other hand, bullion silver coins cooled slightly, as did interest in proof gold …

• Gold Coin Buying Advice and Scam Victim Resources
  What do you do when a gold seller fails to deliver or the merchandise you received was not as described when you ordered it? Who can you contact for help when you don’t receive payment for gold you’ve submitted to sell? …