Gold futures declined Friday, slipping from a more than 7-week high after four days of gains, but still scored their third straight weekly increase.
Gold for February delivery shed $3.60, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,196.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold appears to be trading in lockstep with U.S. dollar trends over the past few weeks, with this week’s strength reflecting softness in the dollar," MarketWatch quoted Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "Our view on President-elect Trump’s policies is that we should see a stronger U.S. dollar, which should continue to pressure gold prices this year."
Gold futures climbed 1.9% this week, matching their previously weekly gain. On Thursday, the yellow metal settled at its highest price since Nov. 22. Prices so far this year are 3.9% higher.
In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street survey:
"Eighteen traders and analysts took part in a weekly Wall Street survey. Eleven voters, or 61%, see gold prices rising by next Friday. Six, or 33%, see a retreat in prices, while one voter looks for a range-bound market.
Meanwhile, 495 participants took part in the Main Street survey. A total of 333 participants, or 67%, called for gold to rise, while 117, or 24%, saw lower prices. The remaining 45 voters, or 9%, were neutral."
Ending lower Friday for a third day in a row, silver for March delivery lost 6 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $16.765 an ounce.
Silver futures still advanced by 1.5% this week, after rallying 3.3% last week. When they last closed higher on Tuesday, they ended at their best level since Dec. 14. The precious metal has gained 4.9% in January.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
-
April platinum added $1.70, or 0.2%, to $986.40 an ounce, for a 1.6% weekly increase.
- Palladium for March delivery tumbled $16.10, or 2.1%, to $749.15 an ounce, falling 1.2% on the week
Both metals are higher through the first two weeks of this year, with platinum up 8.9% and palladium up 9.6%.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices were lower Friday but higher on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold fell $14.70, or 1.2%, to $1,190.35 an ounce.
- Silver declined 15 cents, or 0.9%, to $16.76 an ounce.
- Platinum fell $10, or 1%, to $971 an ounce.
- Palladium declined $12, or 1.6%, to $746 an ounce.
Weekly gains totaled 1.2% for gold, 1.9% for silver, 1.3% for platinum and 0.1% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2017
On Monday, Jan. 9, the United States Mint released its 2017-dated gold and silver bullion coins. Orders for them surged.
Gold coins advanced by 105,000 ounces this week with splits of 80,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 24,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins. The first week of sales for last year’s new 2016-dated gold coins totaled 98,500 ounces with splits of 75,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 23,500 in American Gold Buffalo coins.
2017 American Silver Eagles climbed by 3,747,500 coins, down from last year’s first-week sales of 4 million coins. That said, the one-week amount is already higher than half of the monthly totals logged in 2016.
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.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Dec Sales | Jan Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | – | 55,500 | 23,000 | 55,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 18,000 | 3,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | – | 30,000 | 2,000 | 30,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | – | 85,000 | 40,000 | 85,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 500 | 0 | 24,500 | 12,500 | 24,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | – | 3,747,500 | 240,000 | 3,747,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | ||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | ||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 800 | – | ||
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
