Gold Posts First Weekly Decline in Five Weeks

Gold futures declined on Friday to log their third loss in a row and snap a string of four straight weekly increases.

Gold for August delivery shed $8.10, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,271.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"It seems like long liquidation on gold and it looks vulnerable to more setbacks," Bloomberg News quoted Phil Streible, a senior market strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. "Gold has been such a great trade and there was so much optimism, but it just failed to breach through $1,300. People are now looking at interest rates, with bond yields rising." 

Gold futures declined 0.7% this week after four weekly advances that added a combined 4.3% to prices. The yellow metal last closed higher on Tuesday at $1,297.50 an ounce, marking its best settlement since Nov. 4. Gold is 10.4% higher so far this year.

In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their weekly gold survey:

"Eighteen traders and analysts took part in a weekly Kitco News Wall Street survey. Four voters, or 22%, see gold prices rising by next Friday. Eleven, or 61%, said lower, while three voters, or 17%, were either neutral or expected sideways prices.

Meanwhile, 946 readers submitted votes in an online Main Street poll. A total of 525 voters, or 55%, are bullish. Another 317, or 34%, say that gold will fall, while 104, or 11%, are neutral."

Also falling for a third straight session, silver for July delivery lost 19.1 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $17.223 an ounce. Silver futures fell 1.7% this week following three weekly gains that stacked on 6.9%. On Tuesday, they ended at their best price since April 24. The precious metal is 7.7% higher on the year to date.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

• July platinum rose $2.20, or 0.2%, to $940.30 an ounce, but lost 1.4% this week.

• Palladium for September delivery added $9.70, or 1.2%, to $856.20 an ounce, for a 2.7% weekly increase.

Both are higher on the year so far with increase of 3.8% for platinum and 25.3% for palladium.

London Precious Metals Prices

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

• Gold declined $6.55, or 0.5%, to $1,266.55 an ounce.
• Silver dropped 25 cents, or 1.4%, to $17.35 an ounce.
• Platinum lost $6, or 0.6%, to $939 an ounce.
• Palladium jumped $41, or 4.8%, to $896 an ounce.

For the week in LBMA prices, gold slipped 0.7% while silver, platinum and palladium advanced by 0.9%; 0.8%; and 7%.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017

U.S. Mint bullion sales remained slow for gold coins and strengthened a bit for silver coins. In weekly headline comparisons:

• Gold coins advanced 1,000 ounces, matching last week to include the same splits of 500 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.

• Silver coins moved up by 325,00 ounces compared to 300,500 ounces previously. Splits include 229,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles versus 300,000 ounces previously and 96,000 ounces in ATB 5-ounce silver bullion coins compared to 500 ounces previously. Most of the 5-ounce sales were from the newly released bullion coin honoring Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri.

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.