Gold futures ended lower for a second session in a row and posted a third straight weekly decline. Despite that, United States Mint bullion coins are on fire with American Gold Eagle weekly sales the highest of the year.
On Friday, gold for August delivery dipped $1.30, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,157.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold is getting some support from the stronger euro, but if we get a deal with Greece on Sunday, it should be bearish for gold because it removes any risk," Reuters quoted Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar.
Gold prices slipped 0.5% on the week and they are down 2.2% since their final settlement in 2014 at $1,184.10 an ounce. Looking ahead, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street survey:
"This week, 538 people participated in Kitco News’ online survey. Of those, 289 participants, or 54%, expect to see higher gold prices next week; 200 participants, or 37%, see lower gold prices and 49 people, or 9%, are neutral.
Despite the renewed optimism among retail investors, the results among market professionals remained mixed for the fourth straight week. Out of 33 market experts contacted, 20 responded; of which eight, or 40%, said they are bullish on gold next week. At the same time, seven professionals, or 35% said they are also bearish, and five people, or 25%, are neutral on gold."
Rising for a third session in a row, silver for September delivery climbed 12 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $15.48 an ounce. Still, silver prices declined on the week, matching gold’s weekly loss of 0.5%. The precious metal is now down on the year to date by 0.8%.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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October platinum advanced $9.90, or 1%, to $1,032.30 an ounce, but tumbled 4.8% from a week ago.
- Palladium for September tacked on $12.35, or 1.9%, to $650.35 an ounce, but dived 6.3% on the week.
Both metals are sharply lower on the year — platinum by 14.7% and palladium by 18.5%.
London Precious Metals Prices
On Friday, London precious metals prices were mixed to flat. In comparing London bullion prices from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold declined $4.95, or 0.4%, to $1,159.30 an ounce,
- Silver rose 7 cents, or 0.5%, to $15.45 an ounce,
- Platinum was unchanged at $1,032 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $1, or 0.2%, to $655 an ounce.
For the week, prices posted declines of 0.7% for gold, 1.2% for silver, 4.6% for platinum and 4.4% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in July
United States Mint bullion sales are maintaining a furious pace that began in June. Exceptional demand for bullion drained the Mint’s supply of Silver Eagles on Tuesday and Gold Eagle sales in the last five days alone have topped the monthly totals logged in February, March, April and May. In the latest weekly bullion sales comparisons:
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Gold coins soared by 60,000 ounces after last week’s pick up of 33,000 ounces. Weekly splits include 54,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles compared to 25,500 previously and 5,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins compared to 7,500 ounces previously.
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Silver coins reached 1,927,000 ounces before the Silver Eagles temporarily sold out. Last week’s take totaled 1,932,000 ounces, the most since the week after the 2015-dated versions launched in January. Blue Ridge Parkway Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins will finally awaken with their sales resumption on Monday. They five ouncers temporarily sold out on their release day, June 22. Sales of Silver Eagles are not expected to resume until the week of the 20th.
Below is a listing of U.S. Mint bullion products that shows the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available. Those with a double asterisk (**) are temporarily unavailable.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday Sales | Last Week | This Week | June Sales | July Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 23,500 | 21,000 | 47,000 | 62,500 | 56,000 | 254,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 38,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 82,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 30,000 | 15,000 | 50,000 | 85,000 | 55,000 | 445,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,500 | 7,500 | 5,500 | 21,000 | 8,000 | 104,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins** | 0 | 1,932,000 | 1,927,000 | 4,840,000 | 2,709,000 | 24,495,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 35,000 | ||||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 42,000 | ||||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins** | – | – | – | 35,000 | – | 35,000 |
