U.S. precious metals advanced Friday and for the week. Euro-zone debt worries were cast as a primer for safe-having bullion buying.
Gold finished up 1.0 percent on the week and above $1,500 an ounce for the first time since giving up the level last Friday. Silver prices crept 0.2 percent higher on the week and topped $35 an ounce. Other weekly metal gains included 4.1 percent for palladium and 10 cents for platinum.
On Friday, June gold prices rose $16.50, or 1.1 percent, to finish at $1,508.90 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold prices hit a low at 1,486.40 and a high at $1,515.80. The yellow metal has rallied 6.2 percent in 2011.
"Gold’s been given every opportunity to break this week, and it has refused to do so, and now it appears in the process of breaking out to the upside instead. We are much impressed … enough so to add to our gold positions," Dennis Gartman, publisher of The Gartman Letter, was quoted on Reuters.
Silver prices for July delivery rose 15.5 cents, or 0.4 percent, to close at $35.087 an ounce. It ranged between $34.190 and $35.570. Silver has advanced 13.4 percent this year.
"I think we’ve seen a fairly aggressive run-up in silver price and I think there’s a bit of the market drawing its breath, but at the end of the day there’s still something like 60 odd trillion in cash looking for an investment home," John Smith, President and CEO of Silver Standard Resources, said and was cited on Kitco News.
"Silver has been a volatile metal in terms of pricing and we’re seeing it now but I think the fundamentals still support (a) strong silver price."
Platinum prices for July delivery added 40.0 cents and closed at $1,769.40 an ounce, trading between $1,757.50 and $1,779.40.
Palladium prices for June delivery gained $7.35, or 1.0 percent, to $735.50 an ounce. They hit an intraday low of $723.60 and a high of $738.40.
For the year, platinum has fallen 0.5 percent and palladium has declined 8.5 percent.
London metals were mixed Friday and for the week. When comparing London fixing prices on Thursday (PM) from those on Wednesday (PM), gold prices declined $2.25 at $1,490.75 an ounce, silver lost 95.0 cents to $34.80 an ounce, platinum added $1.00 to $1,767.00 an ounce, and palladium retreated $2.00 at $734.00 an ounce.
Weekly losses were 1.0 percent for gold, 3.9 percent for silver, and 0.4 percent for platinum. Palladium gained 2.2 percent.
Buyers picked up more one-ounce bullion coins from the United States Mint on Friday. On a weekly basis, sales were slower than the previous one for all but the American Gold Buffalo coin. The latest Mint bullion coin sales figures follow:
| US Mint 2011 Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Gains |
Prior Weekly |
Weekly Gains |
May 2011 |
YTD 2011 |
|
| Gold Eagle Coin (1 oz.) | 1,500 | 19,000 | 9,000 | 81,500 | 439,500 |
| Gold Eagle Coin (1/2 oz.) | 0 | 7,000 | 2,000 | 22,000 | 55,000 |
| Gold Eagle Coin (1/4 oz.) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 56,000 |
| Gold Eagle Coin (1/10 oz.) | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 15,000 | 215,000 |
| Gold Buffalo Coin (1 oz.) | 3,500 | 2,000 | 6,500 | 13,000 | 71,500 |
| Silver Eagle (1 oz.) | 78,500 | 805,000 | 750,000 | 2.256M | 17.504 M |
| ATB Silver Bullion (5 oz.)* | 0 | 12,600 | 3,000 | 28,000 | 253,400 |
