Gold futures declined on Friday, pulling prices lower for the week and taking them into the red for third quarter. Still, the yellow metal advanced in September and remains solidly higher on the year so far.
On Friday, gold for December delivery declined $8.90, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,317.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the lowest in two weeks, since Sept. 16, when gold ended at $1310.20 an ounce.
Gold futures fell 1.8% this week but edged up 0.4% in September. However, they posted a quarterly loss of 0.3%.
"The third quarter was a period of consolidation for gold after the furious run up so far this year," MarketWatch quoted Brien Lundin, editor of Gold Newsletter.
Gold is 24.2% 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:
"Twenty analysts and traders took part in a weekly Wall Street survey. Ten participants, or 50%, see sideways prices next week, while nine, or 45%, look for higher. Only one voter, or 5%, sees gold falling.
Meanwhile, 542 Main Street participants submitted votes in an online survey, the lowest participation since January. A total of 310 respondents, or 57%, said they were bullish for the week ahead, while 166, or 31%, were bearish. The neutral votes totaled 66, or 12%."
Elsewhere in bullion trading, silver for December delivery rose 2.6 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $19.214 an ounce. Silver futures dropped 3% this week but posted gains of 2.7% in September and 3.2% for the quarter. They are $5.41, or 39.2%, higher on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday, for the week and for the month:
-
January platinum lost $2.70, or 0.3%, to $1,034.50 an ounce, for declines of 2.1% on the week and 1.8% in September.
- Palladium for December delivery added $2, or 0.3%, to $721.50 an ounce, registering gains of 2.1% on the week and 7.7% on the month.
Both metals advanced in the third quarter, by 1% for platinum and 20.8% for palladium, and they have logged respective year-to-date gains of 15.8% 28.4%.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices finished higher on Friday and in the third quarter, but mixed for the week and the month of September. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold rose $4.40, or 0.3%, to $1,322.50 an ounce.
- Silver added 34 cents, or 1.8%, to $19.35 an ounce.
- Platinum gained $13, or 1.3%, to $1,034 an ounce.
- Palladium climbed $13, or 1.8%, to $722 an ounce.
For the week, palladium jumped 4.6% while the other metal prices declined by 1.2% for gold, 2.4% for silver and 2% for platinum. London prices for platinum fell 1.5% in September. The others registered monthly gains of 1% for gold, 3.3% for silver and 7.1% for palladium.
As for last quarter, price advances include 0.1% for gold, 5.4% for silver, 3.5% for platinum and 22.6% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
U.S. Mint bullion sales improved for a second month in a row — solidly for gold coins and more modestly for silver coins. In headline bullion coin comparisons:
-
American Eagle gold coins advanced 94,000 ounces in September for their best month since April. They jumped 60.7% from the August total of 58,500 ounces but slid 25.1% from the 125,500 ounces delivered in September of last year. Year to date sales total 692,000 ounces for a 3.3% increase over the 670,000 ounces sold during the first nine months of 2015.
-
American Buffalo gold coins moved up 17,500 ounces last month, rising 94.4% from August sales of 9,000 ounces but falling 20.5% from the 22,000 ounces sold in September 2015. Sales from the January to September period at 149,000 ounces are 12.6% lower than the 170,500 ounces sold during the same time last year.
-
American Eagle silver coins advanced 1,675,000 ounces in September, up 30.9% from the August tally of 1,280,000 ounces — their lowest monthly total since December 2013. However, they tumbled 56% from the 3,804,500 ounces delivered in September of last year. Sales of 2016 American Silver Eagles are at 30,575,500 coins for a 15.2% decline from the 36,054,500 coins delivered during the same period in 2015.
-
America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins advanced by 11,000 ounces last month after climbing by 147,000 ounces in August when the Theodore Roosevelt National Park coin launched.
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* | – | 1,000 | – | 20,000 | ||
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 6,500 | 17,000 | 24,000 | 50,000 | 79,000 | 565,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 5,000 | 56,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 16,000 | 116,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 5,000 | 15,000 | 20,000 | 60,000 | 85,000 | 700,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 2,500 | 5,500 | 4,500 | 9,000 | 17,500 | 149,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 255,000 | 370,000 | 1,280,000 | 1,675,000 | 30,575,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 105,000 | ||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 75,000 | ||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 200 | 0 | 1,900 | 200 | 36,300 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | -500 | 27,500 | 2,000 | 29,500 |
Irrespective of the percentage variations, gold is still at a hefty price.
Gold has a hefty price indeed in Canada. Spot is $1722
I was unaware of spot price in Canada being $1722. Not knowing of the currency exchange, would that be inclusive of the exchange rate? I would believe that you are referring to U.S. dollars in the aforesaid price.
If you have time to elaborate, exactly how, or why, would any purchase gold in Canada ? This is an area which I have never researched.
Gold spot right now is $1722 CAD. I could purchase gold from a US website at $1318 USD spot price (obviously I would be paying a premium over spot price). The thing most people don’t realize is, if I want to buy $1318 USD with the exchange rate it will cost me at least $1722 CAD. People have told me “why don’t you just buy gold in the USA” because they think I would save money…….. that is not that case. If the exchange rate was 1-1 then I could purchase USD at par. This is not the case. For… Read more »
Thank you very much.