Gold and silver snapped a three-session losing streak on Friday, and gold managed to limp into the black for the week.
On Friday, gold for June delivery added $11, or 0.9%, to settle at $1,204.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"This move is coming during a week when we didn’t really have any gold-positive news but …the way gold is putting up a fight at the moment is potentially giving some confidence to the market," Reuters quoted Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen. "But to make headwinds above the resistance area around $1,225 we need to see some real buying coming in."
The precious metal inched 0.3% higher since before the Easter break. Gold’s biggest gain this week happened on Monday when it rallied 1.5% and hit a seven-week high. After, dollar strength pressured prices for three straight days and continued to limit gains into Friday.
Gold prices are 1.7% higher than their last close in 2014 at $1,184.10 an ounce.
Silver for May delivery tacked on 21 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $16.38 an ounce. Still, prices slid 1.9% from a week ago. While silver was the only precious metal loser this week, it remains the biggest gainer in the group for the year so far with its 5% pick-up.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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July platinum rose $13.60, or 1.2%, to $1,170.60 an ounce, advancing 1.4% from a week ago.
- Palladium for June delivery added $13.65, or 1.8%, to $776.05 an ounce, jumping 4% on the week.
For the year to date, platinum is down 3.2% and palladium is off 2.8%.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals climbed on Friday and, except for silver, also for the week. In comparing London bullion prices from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold added $12.55, or 1%, to $1,207.35 an ounce,
- Silver rose 25 cents, or 1.5%, to $16.55 an ounce,
- Platinum added $9, or 0.8%, to $1,171 an ounce, and
- Palladium turned up $16, or 2.1%, to $777 an ounce.
Silver dropped 1.7% on the week while the other metals registered increases of 0.7% for gold, 2.5% for platinum and 3.5% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in April
United States Mint bullion products logged mixed performances this week with sales of silver coins higher and orders for gold coins much lower. In the latest weekly bullion coin sales comparisons:
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Gold coins rose 6,000 ounces after rising 10,000 ounces in the prior week. Splits were 3,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles compared to 7,500 ounces previously, and 2,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins to match their prior weekly gain.
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Silver coins rose 771,000 ounces after increasing 680,500 ounces in the previous week. All sales came from American Silver Eagles since Homestead five ounce silver coins sold out a week ago Tuesday and the next five ounce coin is not yet released.
This listing of U.S. Mint bullion products show the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | March Sales | April Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 1,500 | 35,000 | 1,500 | 100,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 5,000 | 2,000 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 46,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 70,000 | 10,000 | 245,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 2,500 | 2,500 | 9,500 | 4,000 | 60,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 60,000 | 675,500 | 771,000 | 3,519,000 | 843,000 | 12,914,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 1,000 | – | 15,000 | – | 35,000 |
