Gold futures registered a third straight loss Friday but still advanced for a second week in a row. Other precious metals also posted weekly gains despite end-of-week declines.
Gold for December delivery on Friday fell $7.10, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,334.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold has seen "gains on disappointing economic data, but Fed speakers have caused the market to rethink their view on rate increases," MarketWatch quoted Robert Haworth, senior investment strategist with U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "Gold now appears to be reflecting the stronger dollar and rising odds of a Fed rate increase in 2016."
Gold futures climbed this week by 0.6% after rising last week by less than 0.1%. The yellow metal is now $274.30, or 25.9%, higher than its final settlement in 2015 at $1,060.20 an ounce. In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street survey:
"This week, 15 analysts and traders took part in the survey; about 46% of the experts expect prices to trek lower next week, while the remaining participants — split evenly at 27% — see higher or neutral prices.
Meanwhile, sentiment on Main Street was a little more optimistic for the yellow metal. This week, 664 Main Street participants voted on the online survey, of which 438 voters, or 66%, are bullish. At the same time, 136 participants, 20%, expect lower prices while 87, or 13%, are neutral."
Also lower for a third straight day, silver for December delivery dropped 31 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $19.368 an ounce. Silver futures ended virtually flat this week, rising less than a half penny, after soaring 3.8% a week earlier. Silver remains the best-performing precious metal for the year to date, up 40.3%.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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October platinum settled down $17.20, or 1.6%, to $1,067.50 an ounce, but logged a 0.5% weekly gain.
- Palladium for December delivery lost $8.40, or 1.2%, to $679.45 an ounce, but tacked on 0.9% this week.
Both metals are higher on the year so far with gains of 19.5% for platinum and 20.9% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices also ended lower on Friday but higher on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold declined $12.55, or 0.9%, to $1,330.85 an ounce.
- Silver fell 52 cents, or 2.6%, to $19.41 an ounce.
- Platinum declined $15, or 1.4%, to $1,073 an ounce.
- Palladium fell $16, or 2.3%, to $678 an ounce.
Their weekly increases tallied to 0.5% for gold, 3.5% for silver, 2% for platinum and 1.2% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
U.S. Mint bullion coins posted lower sales than a week earlier. In week-over-week comparisons:
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Gold coins advanced 22,000 ounces after climbing 23,000 ounces last week. This week’s splits include 18,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles compared to 20,500 ounces previously and 3,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo compared to 2,500 ounces previously.
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Silver coin sales advanced 177,500 ounces after rising by 552,500 ounces previously. The weekly splits include 170,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles compared to 410,000 ounces previously and 7,500 ounces in America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins compared to 142,500 ounces previously.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion 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 | Aug Sales | Sept Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 17,500 | 14,500 | 50,000 | 19,500 | 505,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 53,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 106,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 5,000 | 25,000 | 20,000 | 60,000 | 35,000 | 650,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,500 | 3,500 | 9,000 | 4,500 | 136,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 410,000 | 170,000 | 1,280,000 | 310,000 | 29,210,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 1,900 | 0 | 36,100 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 27,500 | 1,500 | 27,500 | 1,500 | 29,000 |
To purchase any gold at this point in time would be considered more than risky. The point being; if one purchases a gold coin, there shall not be any secondary market to make a profit. This facet is only relevant to the current gold issues. Naturally, the numbers dictate the intrinsic value of any coin but gold is far too expensive.
To me, Bullion is just that…Bullion. Those who are licensed to sell are contractually obligated to buy back. Gold and silver have done amazing things this year. The increase and value of gold and silver since the beginning of 2016 has been good. Numismatic coins are beyond gold value…low mintage is key. At the end of the day, it does not matter if a mint produces 1 million or 2 million Bullion coins as it is straight cash for precious metals. Any increase in Bullion value is cash in the bank, and temporary loss is just part of the game.… Read more »
Synoptic said “Naturally, the numbers dictate the intrinsic value of ‘ANY’ coin…… (emphasis mine). Mouse was correct when he pointed out that it doesn’t mater if they make 1 million or 2 millon gold bullion coins, that isn’t going to affect their value at all! I don’t think it is better to buy rare coins instead of bullion. I think if the economy was to collapse that the fellow with a lot of bullion will be in much better shape than the one that has a couple of “rare” coins that will be essentially worthless – aside from the intrinsic… Read more »
@ Rodney Collecting numismatic gems is a hobby, not seeking to make an investment nor delving upon how much one can accrue in assets. Greedy people are always looking to capture the realm of dreams in purchasing gold and silver, mainly gold to amass a profit, or to sell on a secondary market. We’re ‘not’ speaking of bullion nor do we recognize bullion as having any more value than any other coin; rather the opposite unless one is looking for a serious return. However, at the price gold stands, one would require a big shovel to scoop up a large… Read more »
Your first comment about the worth was incorrect without a qualifier, such as “to me the (mintage) numbers dictate the worth” or “to hobby collectors the numbers dictate the worth”. That’s a very important qualifier that you left out. so you can expect for people to comment and disagree. I’m not sure why you’re telling me about the hobby. I mentioned value or worth between rare coins and bullion. Personally, I am a collector. I buy coins because I like and value them myself, personally. If I were to be looking to invest money to make a profit or at… Read more »
No, the comment was correct with the exception on using “Any” instead of rare or commemorative coins. Some are always seeking the speck in someone’s eye. However, the comment should have presented more clearly. Irrespective of “Any” the comment stands as factual. There has not been much activity here and I could not edit so the comment stayed. I believe I already presented a synopsis regarding the value of bullion vs. rare coins, as well the state which each coin having value; ‘In stating that rare coins carry more of an intrinsic value ‘by far’ over bullion and bullion’s only… Read more »