Gold, silver and platinum futures enjoyed weekly gains topping 2% while platinum tumbled by more than 5%.
Gold for June delivery added 80 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,253.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Political risk is back on again after market participants became overly complacent following the outcome of the French elections," Reuters quoted Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch. "Risk sentiment took a major hit," he added.
Gold futures logged a 2.1% weekly gain after edging up less than 0.1% last week. They tumbled 3.3% the week before then, marking their largest weekly loss since November. On Wednesday, the yellow metal scored its best close since April 28. It is 8.9% 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:
"Eighteen traders and analysts took part in a Wall Street survey. Eleven voters, or 61%, see gold prices rising by next Friday. Three, or 17%, said lower, while four voters, or 22%, were either neutral or expected sideways prices.
Meanwhile, 944 readers submitted votes in an online Main Street poll. A total of 588 voters, or 63%, are bullish. Another 268, or 28%, say that gold will fall, while 88, or 9%, are neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for July delivery moved up 12.6 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $16.796 an ounce. Silver futures climbed 2.4% this week after sliding 0.8% last week. Also on Wednesday (like for gold), the precious metal settled at its best price since April 28. It is 5.1% higher on the year to date.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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July platinum added $3.40, or 0.4%, to $940.20 an ounce, for a 2.5% weekly gain.
- Palladium for June delivery fell $4.75, or 0.6%, to $760.70 an ounce, dropping 5.3% on the week.
Both metals are higher so far this year with increases of 3.8% for platinum and 11.3% 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 declined $3.90, or 0.3%, to $1,252 an ounce.
- Silver lost 4 cents, or 0.2%, to $16.77 an ounce.
- Platinum rose $9, or 1%, to $943 an ounce.
- Palladium added $5, or 0.7%, to $770 an ounce.
For the week, palladium declined 4.7% while the other metal prices registered gains of 1.7% for gold, 2.9% for silver, and 2.3% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion products registered somewhat similar week-over-week results. In comparisons:
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Gold coins advanced by 5,500 ounces compared to last week’s 5,000 ounces. Splits include 3,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles, matching last week, and 2,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalos compared to 1,500 ounces previously.
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Silver coins moved up by 506,500 ounces compared to 535,500 ounces previously — their best week since the one ending March 24. Splits include 505,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles versus 525,000 ounces previously and 1,500 ounces in ATB 5-ounce silver bullion coins compared to 10,500 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) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last Week | This Week | April Sales | May Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 3,000 | 3,500 | 6,000 | 133,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 26,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 48,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 230,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,500 | 2,000 | 3,500 | 4,500 | 63,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 525,000 | 505,000 | 835,000 | 1,560,000 | 10,352,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 500 | 300 | 900 | 900 | 21,500 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 1,600 | 0 | 17,600 | 2,400 | 20,000 |
