Gold futures ended higher Friday, logging their seventh advance in the past eight sessions and scoring their sixth straight week of gains.
Gold for June delivery added $5.30, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,289.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold struggled to hold this week’s gains as the dollar strengthened and concerns over global risk eased," Reuters quoted ANZ analysts. However, selling was relatively muted, which suggests a period of consolidation is now upon us."
Gold futures traded just 60 cents higher this week, the lowest in their streak of weekly wins that have padded gains combining to 7.3%. On Tuesday, they ended at $1,294.10 an ounce for their highest close since Nov. 4. The precious metal is 11.9% higher for the year to date.
In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street survey:
"Nineteen traders and analysts took part in a Wall Street survey. Ten voters, or 53%, see gold prices rising by next Friday. Seven, or 37%, said lower, while two voters, or 11%, were either neutral or expected sideways prices.
Meanwhile, 1,232 Kitco readers submitted votes in an online Main Street poll. A total of 723 voters, or 59%, are bullish. Another 330, or 27%, say that gold will fall, while 179, or 15%, are neutral."
Elsewhere, silver futures ended lower for a fourth day in a row, deepening their weekly loss. Silver for May delivery shed 16.2 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $17.856 an ounce. Prices dropped 3.5% this week after rising 2% last week. On Monday, they ended at $18.737 an ounce for their highest close since Nov. 10. So far, silver is up 11.7% for the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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July platinum lost $3.60, or 0.4%, to $977.60 an ounce, but edged up 20 cents on the week
- Palladium fell $12.15, or 1.5%, to $790.75 an ounce, for a 0.7% weekly decline.
Both metals are higher for the year to date with increases of 7.9% for platinum and 15.7% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices ended mixed on Friday and for the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold dipped 25 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $1,281.85 an ounce.
- Silver declined 21 cents, or 1.2%, to $17.98 an ounce.
- Platinum rose $3, or 0.3%, to $979 an ounce.
- Palladium added $9, or 1.1%, to $803 an ounce.
For the week, platinum climbed 0.4% with the other London metal prices fell by 0.2% for gold, 3.1% for silver, and 0.5% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion products registered a second straight week of rather subdued gains — especially for gold coins. In the latest week-over-week comparisons:
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Gold coins advanced by 1,000 ounces compared to 2,000 ounces previously. Splits include 500 ounces in American Gold Eagles compared to 1,000 ounces previously and 500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo compared to 1,000 ounces previously.
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Silver coins advanced by 242,500 ounces compared to 136,500 ounces previously. Splits include 220,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles versus 125,000 ounces previously and 22,500 ounces in ATB 5-ounce silver bullion coins compared to 11,500 ounces previously.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. 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 | Mar Sales | April Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 16,000 | 2,500 | 126,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 46,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 35,000 | 10,000 | 200,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 500 | 8,500 | 2,500 | 58,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 125,000 | 220,000 | 1,615,000 | 600,000 | 8,557,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 300 | 200 | 900 | 20,600 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 2,300 | 4,200 | N/A | 16,200 | 16,200 |
With all the geopolitical messes going on this past week & the looming European elections, the Mint’s bullion coin Authorized Purchasers only bought coins on one day this trading week & very few gold coins which you would expect under such world circumstances would have been sought after. (4 of the APs are oversees companies). Very strange!
-NumisDudeTX