Precious metals continued to rally Friday, padding advances that began in after-hours trading Thursday when the Federal Reserve announced it would leave interest rates unchanged in September. The metals also posted sharp weekly gains.
Gold for December delivery tacked on $20.80, or 1.9%, to settle at $1,137.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The Fed’s hesitancy [in raising rates] may yet reinforce investors’ worries about the health of the global economy, rather than reassure them, leaving gold as one of the few lasting beneficiaries," Capital Economics said in a note according to Reuters.
The yellow metal rallied 3.1% on the week, snapping a three straight weekly losing streak. Still, gold is down 3.9% since the final settlement in 2014 at $1,184.10 an ounce.
Looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street survey:
"This week 172 people participated in Kitco’s online survey. Of those 98, or 57%, are bullish on gold next week; 49 respondents, or 28%, are bearish; and 25 people, or 15%, are neutral.
Kitco’s market professional survey was even more definitive; out of 35 market experts contacted, 20 responded, of which 15, or 75%, said they expect to see higher prices next week. At the same time, four professionals, or 20%, are neutral on gold, and one person, or 5%, sees lower prices."
Advancing for a third session in a row after falling for three straight, silver for December delivery settled up 18 cents, or 1.2%, to $15.16 an ounce. Silver prices surged 4.5% on the week and trimmed their loss on the year to 2.8%.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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October platinum gained $16, or 1.7%, to $984.40 an ounce, climbing 2% from a week ago.
- Palladium for December delivery rose $11.65, or 1.9%, to $610.85 an ounce, jumping 3.4% on the week.
For the year to date, platinum is off 18.6% and palladium is down 23.5%.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals also surged on Friday and from a week ago. In comparing London bullion prices from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold gained $24, or 2.2%, to $1,141.50 an ounce.
- Silver advanced 50 cents, or 3.4%, to $15.26 an ounce.
- Platinum jumped $26, or 2.7%, to $986 an ounce.
- Palladium added $9, or 1.5%, to $611 an ounce.
Weekly gains totaled 3.8% for gold, 4.7% for silver, 1.5% for platinum and 4.1% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in September
United States Mint gold sales jumped by 49,500 ounces this week for a 67.8% increase over last week’s 29,500 ounces. Sales splits include 43,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles compared to 25,000 previously and 6,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins compared to 4,500 ounces previously.
For a seventh week in a row, gains in silver sales came entirely from American Silver Eagles because the first three 2015-dated America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins sold out and the next one does not launch until Sept. 30.
American Silver Eagles at 34,304,500 for the year are running at a record pace, up 15.2% through the same time last year. That, even as the Mint has limited sales of the coins since temporarily running out of them in early July. This week, the Mint restricted Silver Eagles sales to 809,500. Buyers grabbed those by Tuesday.
In 2014 when Silver Eagle sales ended at a record 44,006,000, the coins by this time posted sales of 29,771,000. The U.S. Mint also allocated sales last year but not during the summer months.
Below is a listing of United States Mint bullion products with 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 | This Week | August Sales | Sept Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 21,500 | 35,500 | 78,500 | 76,500 | 498,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 8,000 | 6,000 | 60,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 24,000 | 12,000 | 134,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 25,000 | 40,000 | 130,000 | 110,000 | 765,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,500 | 6,500 | 20,000 | 16,500 | 165,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | – | 1,000,000 | 809,500 | 4,935,000 | 2,054,500 | 34,304,500 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 35,000 | ||||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 42,000 | ||||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 45,000 | ||||
To see how inflation has changed the buying power of the U.S. dollar over time, use this site’s Inflation Calculator.
