Gold futures settled higher for a third straight session Friday, lifting prices just enough to score their first weekly advanced in three weeks. Last week, they posted their biggest weekly loss of the year.
Gold for June delivery added $3.50, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,227.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Very near term, if volatility remains even slightly elevated and interest rates come back in or at least stay flat, gold will likely trend sideways," MarketWatch quoted Tyler Richey, co-editor of the Sevens Report. "Longer term, the 2017 uptrend still remains intact as long as the $1,200 area holds, but the strength of the trend is much weaker than it was this time last month."
Gold futures edged up less than 0.1% this week after dropping 3.3% last week — their largest weekly loss since November. They are 6.6% higher so far this year.
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 Wall Street survey. Twelve voters, or 71%, see gold prices rising by next Friday. Two, or 12%, said lower, while three voters, or 18%, were either neutral or expected sideways prices.
Meanwhile, 693 readers submitted votes in an online Main Street poll. A total of 361 voters, or 52%, are bullish. Another 239, or 34%, say that gold will fall, while 93, or 13%, are neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for July delivery settled up 13.7 cents, or 0.8%, to $16.402 an ounce. On Tuesday, the precious metal had logged its eleventh straight session decline and closed at its lowest level since Dec. 30. Still, silver futures managed a 0.8% increase from a week ago. They are 2.6% higher on the year to date.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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July platinum dipped 20 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $917.50 an ounce, trimming its weekly increase to 0.8%.
- Palladium for June delivery rose $4.55, or 0.6%, to $803.50 an ounce, but logged a 1.2% weekly decline.
Both metals are higher so far this year with gains of 1.3% for platinum and 17.6% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices also ended mixed on Friday and for the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold added $8.10, or 0.7%, to $1,231.25 an ounce.
- Silver declined 7 cents, or 0.4%, to $16.30 an ounce.
- Platinum rose $11, or 1.2%, to $922 an ounce.
- Palladium added $4, or 0.5%, to $808 an ounce.
For the week, palladium dipped 0.1% while the other metal prices registered gains of 0.3% for gold, 0.2% for silver, and 1.4% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion products posted stronger weekly results with sales of gold coins almost doubling and sales of silver coins the highest in seven weeks, though just a notch above last week. In week-over-week comparisons:
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Gold coins advanced by 5,500 ounces compared to last week’s 3,000 ounces. Splits include 4,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles versus 2,000 ounces previously and 1,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos compared to 1,000 ounces previously.
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Silver coins moved up by 535,500 ounces — their best week since the one ended March 24, compared to 534,500 ounces previously. Splits include 525,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles versus 530,000 ounces previously and 10,500 ounces in ATB 5-ounce silver bullion coins compared to 4,500 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 | April Sales | May Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 3,500 | 3,000 | 130,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 46,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 10,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 230,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 1,000 | 1,500 | 3,500 | 2,500 | 61,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 75,000 | 530,000 | 525,000 | 835,000 | 1,055,000 | 9,847,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 100 | 500 | 900 | 600 | 21,200 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 400 | 800 | 1,600 | 17,600 | 2,400 | 20,000 |
Note: CoinNews will be taking a one-week break from its daily bullion articles.
