Gold extended gains to a second session Friday, rebounding from a one-month low on Wednesday and pairing the yellow metal’s weekly loss to 0.6%.
On Friday, gold for April delivery advanced $6.40, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,227.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Stronger U.S. dollar movements and safe-haven demand have competed much of the week.
"We are in a holding pattern between $1,150 and $1,300 because there isn’t enough clarity around when the Fed is going to be hiking interest rates and what is going to be happening with Greece," Reuters quoted ING Bank senior strategist Hamza Khan.
"The story [for gold] will continue to be focused on the Greek negotiations with the EU, which will come to some form of conclusion on Monday," said Peter Hug, global trading director at Kitco Metals Inc. "Should a satisfactory resolution be agreed to, or at a minimum an extension of the current debt facility, and assuming the Ukraine cease fire holds, the metals may face some selling pressure next week."
Gold has declined for three consecutive weeks after having gained for three straight. Prices are 3.6% higher than their close last year at $1,184.10 an ounce.
Silver also climbed for a second straight session. On Friday, silver for March delivery surged 50 cents, or 3%, to end at $17.29 an ounce. The white metal rallied 3.6% on the week and has leapt 10.9% since ending 2014 at $15.60 an ounce.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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April platinum added $7, or 0.6%, to $1,207.50 an ounce, but slipped 1.2% on the week.
- Palladium for March delivery jumped $20.80, or 2.7%, to $794.45 an ounce and climbed 1.7% higher than a week ago.
For the year to date, both are lower — platinum by 0.2% and palladium by 0.5%.
London Fix Precious Metals
London precious metals were mixed. In comparing London bullion Fix prices from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold added $10, or 0.8%, to $1,232.50 an ounce,
- Silver dipped 3 cents, or 0.2%, to $16.86 an ounce,
- Platinum declined $3, or 0.2%, to $1,201 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $14, or 1.8%, to $786 an ounce.
For the week, palladium was unchanged while the other London fixings retreated. Weekly losses totaled 0.7% for gold, 2.1% for silver and 3.1% for platinum.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in February
United States Mint bullion sales picked up modestly. In the latest weekly sales comparisons:
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Silver coins gained 772,500 ounces after advancing by 752,500 ounces last week. American Silver Eagles account for all sales in both weeks as the Mint’s first 2015-dated five ounce ATB silver coin is yet to get released. On Friday, 2015 Silver Eagle sales topped the 7 million mark. The bullion coins are moving a tad quicker than last year, which ended at a record with sales just above 44 million. 2014 Silver Eagles had reached 6.5 million by Feb. 13, 2014.
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Gold coins rose by 10,500 ounces after gaining 4,500 ounces in the prior week. Splits were 6,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles compared to 2,500 ounces previously, and 4,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins compared to 2,000 ounces previously.
Below are sales of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying time periods.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | January Sales | February Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,500 | 51,500 | 4,500 | 56,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 1,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 20,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36,000 | 0 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 10,000 | 5,000 | 30,000 | 115,000 | 35,000 | 150,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 500 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 34,500 | 6,000 | 40,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 135,500 | 752,000 | 772,500 | 5,530,000 | 1,524,500 | 7,054,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 600 | 0 | 600 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Coins with an asterisk (*) have sold out for 2014 with 2015-dated versions not yet released.
