Gold Nears $1400, Weekly Silver Prices Rally 8.9%

Bullion prices soared for a second straight day Friday as gold hit a new record and closed $2.30 away from $1,400 an ounce. The yellow metal rose 3.0 percent this week as buying momentum surged on expectations that the Federal Reserve’s new monetary policy will weaken the dollar and spur inflation.

Silver, which closed at a fresh 30-year high, was the best performer of all precious metals. Its intraday peak was 8.5 cents shy of $27 an ounce as it gained 8.9 percent this week. For perspective, silver ended last week at $24.56 an ounce.

In other markets, crude oil rallied to its highest level since October 2008, cementing its best week since February with a 6.7 percent gain. U.S. stocks rose as the three major indexes closed at fresh two-year highs, capping five straight weeks of gains.

Gold futures prices for December delivery added $14.60, or 1.1 percent, to settle at $1,397.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, prices surged $40.10 after rising 2.5 percent last week. Gold is up 28 percent this year.

The Federal Reserve’s "QE devaluates the currency, so gold…and almost all commodities will be beneficiaries as people start to switch from financial assets to commodities, something they feel more tangible as the money printing continues," Standard & Poor’s Equities and Metals analyst Leo Larkin, said and was cited in a Reuters‘ article entitled Gold set to extend post-Fed gains; peak in 2011: Reuter’s poll.

December silver futures prices advanced 70.5 cents, or 2.7 percent, to close at $26.748 an ounce. Prices gained $2.184 this week after rising 6.3 percent last week. Silver has jumped 59 percent this year.

January platinum prices ended up $13.00, or 0.7 percent, to settle at $1,768.90 an ounce. The metal climbed $61.80, or 3.6 percent, this week after an increase of 1.9 percent last week. Platinum has gained 20 percent this year.

December palladium prices rose $10.65, or 1.6 percent, to $685.40 an ounce. For the week, palladium gained $40.30, or 6.2 percent, after soaring 9.1 percent last week. The metal is up 68 percent this year.

In London bullion prices, the benchmark gold Fix price was $1,395.00 an ounce for a weekly gain of $48.25, or 3.6 percent.

"Markets are realizing the impact of quantitative easing is a tremendous weakening of the dollar," Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services in Chicago, was quoted on Bloomberg. "Ultimately, the Fed is slugging it out to make our currency as cheap as possible. That’s extremely bullish for gold."

Silver was fixed at $26.140 an ounce for a weekly gain of $2.180, or 9.1 percent.

In other London weekly prices, platinum was fixed at $1,764.00, up $64.00 or 3.8 percent, and palladium was $687.00 for an increase of $47.00 or 7.3 percent.

U.S. Mint Gold and Silver Bullion Coin Sales

U.S. Mint bullion coins closed out last month in strong fashion. October Silver Eagle sales surged, breaking a string of four straight monthly declines to register their best ever October. 3.15 million of the .999 fine silver coins sold during the month. Throw in the 255,000 purchased in the start of November, and the bullion coins now hold the annual record for most sold in a single year. That is an impressive for a series which debuted in 1986.

October Gold Eagle sales were higher than those from the previous two months. U.S. Mint buyers ordered 94,000 ounces in total, topping the 88,000 in September and the 41,500 from August. However, the performance lagged the same month sales in 2009 and in 2008.

The following table shows the Mint bullion coin sales, as of Friday, November 5.

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 29 – November 5)

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 on Friday settled to their highest level in two years after dipping early on a rebounding U.S. dollar. Improved payroll and jobs data were cited as factors for Friday’s increase. Comments from OPEC saying consumers had tolerance for oil as high as $90 a barrel were also bullish for prices. Oil received its biggest boost this week when the Fed’s announced its plan to inject more money into the economy.

The Federal Reserve’s "quantitative easing and the comments from the Saudi oil minister were definitely the game-changers," Eugen Weinberg, head of commodity research at Commerzbank AG, said and was quoted on Bloomberg.

U.S. crude futures for December delivery rose 36 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $86.85 a barrel. For the week, oil soared $5.42 after retreating 0.3 percent last week. Prices are up 9.1 percent this year.

Prices at the pump jumped 1.5 cents between Friday and Saturday. The national average for regular unleaded gasoline is $2.834 a gallon, according to the daily AAA fuel report. The price is 2.6 cents higher than last week, 6.6 cents more than the price from a month back, and 15.5 cents higher than a year ago.

U.S. stocks closed slightly higher Friday, capping their best week in two months. The better-than-expected jobs report apparently was less helpful than expected.

"I’m surprised the response isn’t better, but a lot of money was put to work Thursday and stocks were up sharply, so it’s not unusual for investors take a pause," Tom Schrader, managing director at Stifel Nicolaus, was quoted on CNNMoney.com.

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

• The Dow climbed 9.24 points, or 0.08 percent, to 11,444.08.

• The S&P 500 rose 4.79 points, or 0.39 percent, to close at 1,225.85.

• The NASDAQ edged up 1.64 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,578.98.

For the week, the Dow rallied 2.93 percent, the S&P 500 soared 3.60 percent, and the Nasdaq jumped 2.85 percent.

And in other world markets on Friday:

• The German DAX gained 19.51 points to 6,754.20.

• The Paris CAC 40 edged down 0.05 points to settle at 3,916.73.

• The London FTSE 100 added 12.56 points to 5,875.35.

For the week, the DAX rose 2.32 percent, the CAC 40 advanced 2.17 percent and the FTSE 100 surged 3.53 percent.

U.S. Week Ahead Business Video by Reuters

The G20 meeting in Seoul and Cisco’s earnings will be among the top stories next week. These topics and more are covered in the following Reuter’s "The week ahead" business video:

Quick-read business article links follow: