Gold and silver futures were little changed Friday but both marked a second straight week of gains.
Gold for December delivery on Friday added 20 cents to close at $1,267.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"There is accelerating physical gold demand in Asia and particularly in India which has helped prices," Reuters quoted Commerzbank commodity analyst Carsten Fritsch.
Gold futures settled up 1% this week after climbing 0.3% last week. On Wednesday, they scored a more than two-week high at $1,269.90 an ounce. The yellow metal is now 19.6% 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:
"Retail investors and Wall Street participants were carbon copies of one another in the weekly Kitco News gold survey, with the same percentage — 63% — looking for gold to rise over the next week… Likewise, the same percentage — 25% — looks for gold to fall."
Lower for a second day in a row after rising for three straight sessions, silver for December shed 5.6 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $17.493 an ounce. Silver futures inched up 0.3% this week after rising 0.4% last week. They are 26.7% higher than their ending 2015 settlement of $13.803 an ounce.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
-
January platinum shed $3.10, or 0.3%, to $932.30 an ounce, for a 0.8% weekly decline.
- Palladium for December delivery dropped $12.10, or 1.9%, to $620.75 an ounce, falling 4.3% this week.
Bother metals are up for the year to date with gains of 4.4% for platinum and 10.5% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices fell on Friday and were mixed on the week. In comparing their levels from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold declined $5.60, or 0.4%, to $1,266.05 an ounce.
- Silver lost 9 cents, or 0.5%, to $17.51 an ounce.
- Platinum dropped $8, or 0.9%, to $927 an ounce.
- Palladium fell $15, or 2.4%, to $619 an ounce.
For the week, London gold and silver prices gained by 1.1% and 0.2% while platinum and palladium declined by 0.6% and 3.6%.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
U.S. Mint bullion sales surged from a week earlier. Weekly sales of the Mint’s silver coins were the second highest since January, right behind the total from two weeks ago. In more recent week-over-week comparisons:
-
Gold coins advanced 32,000 ounces after gaining 24,000 ounces previously. This week’s splits include 22,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles compared to 20,000 ounces previously and 10,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalo compared to 4,000 ounces previously.
-
Silver coin sales jumped 1.33 million ounces after rising 699,000 ounces previously. The weekly splits include 1.325 million ounces in American Silver Eagles compared to 695,000 ounces previously and 5,000 ounces in America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins compared to 4,000 ounces previously. Silver Eagle sales in October to date at 3,425,000 coins are the highest for a month since May.
Two weeks earlier, U.S. Mint distributors ordered 1.41 million ounces in silver coins.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion coins 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 | Sept Sales | Oct Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins* | – | 20,000 | ||||
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 15,500 | 19,000 | 79,000 | 76,500 | 641,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 5,000 | 6,000 | 62,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 16,000 | 12,000 | 128,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 25,000 | 10,000 | 85,000 | 50,000 | 750,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 4,000 | 10,000 | 17,500 | 22,000 | 171,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 695,000 | 1,325,000 | 1,675,000 | 3,425,000 | 34,000,500 |
| 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 | 0 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 36,500 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 800 | 800 | 2,000 | 2,600 | 32,100 |
I bought my first tube of American Eagle 1 Oz silver bullion coins last week and am very impressed with the quality and craftsmanship / design. They are gonna be a tough sell with spot goes up lol.
Mouse