Gold Logs 1.9% Gain in First Week of 2017, Silver Jumps 3.3%

Gold futures closed lower Friday for their first loss in four sessions but still advanced for a second week in a row after having dropped for seven straight.

Gold for February delivery fell $7.90, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,173.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, prices settled at their best level since Nov. 29.

Gold futures moved ahead 1.9% this week after rising 1.6% last week. Before then, during its run of seven straight weekly declines, the precious metal had given up 13.1%.

"For 2017, we think we are starting from a clean base, leaving room for seasonal drivers to breathe some life back into the yellow metal," Reuters quoted Christopher Louney, commodity strategist for RBC Capital Markets.

"In fact, in our seasonality analysis we observe both the strongest and most consistent positive price performance during Q1 over the last 11 years."

In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street survey:

"Sixteen traders and analysts took part in a weekly Wall Street survey. Twelve voters, or 75%, see gold prices rising by next Friday. Three, or 19%, see a sideways market, while only one voter looks for prices to fall.

Meanwhile, 1,007 participants took part in the Main Street survey. A total of 542, or 54%, called for gold to rise, while 378, or 38%, saw lower prices. The remaining 87, or 9%, were neutral."

Also snapping a three-session winning streak Friday, silver for March delivery shed 11.8 cents, or 0.7%, to close at $16.519 an ounce. Silver futures logged a 3.3% weekly gain. On Thursday, prices ended at their highest point since Dec. 14.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

• April platinum lost $5.40, or 6%, to $970.60 an ounce, but soared 7.2% this week.

• Palladium for March delivery jumped $20.15, or 2.7%, to $758.35 an ounce, pushing its weekly advance up to 11%.

London Precious Metals Prices

London precious metals prices were mixed Friday and higher on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:

• Gold lost 85 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $1,175.85 an ounce.
• Silver declined 14 cents, or 0.8%, to $16.45 an ounce.
• Platinum fell $8, or 0.8%, to $959 an ounce.
• Palladium rose $7, or 0.9%, to $745 an ounce.

In their weekly advances, gains included gold at 1.5%; silver at 1.3%; platinum at 5.7%; and palladium at 10.2%.

US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2017

U.S. bullion sales were unchanged this week, according to U.S. Mint online data. Most of the agency’s 2016-dated issues sold out in early December. Sales will blast off on Monday, Jan. 9, when new 2017-dated coins become available.

Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.