Gold, Silver Score First Weekly Gains in Four Weeks; US Mint Gold Sales Soar

Precious metals ended mostly higher on Friday and they all gained from a week ago. Weekly advances in gold and silver were their first in four weeks.

Gold for February delivery edged up 40 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,257.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close is the highest since Dec. 6.

"Price action has been the opposite of the old adage ‘buy the rumor sell the news’ in the gold market this week as prices declined into the [Federal Open Market Committee] meeting, but then stabilized and rebounded after the Fed announced a largely ‘dovish rate hike’," MarketWatch quoted Tyler Richey, co-editor of the Sevens Report.

Gold futures traded 0.7% higher this week after three straight weekly losses had dropped prices by a combined 3.7%. The yellow metal is now 9.2% higher on the year.

In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street survey:

"Nineteen market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey. Thirteen, or 68%, called for gold to rise. There were four votes or 21%, saying gold would fall, with the remaining two votes, or 11%, neutral or calling for a sideways market.

Meanwhile, 1,055 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll, the most since August. A total of 598 voters, or 57%, looked for gold to rise in the next week. Another 341, or 32%, said lower, while 116, or 11%, were neutral."

Elsewhere, silver for March delivery rose 12.9 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $16.063 an ounce. Silver futures gained 1.5% this week after three weeks of declines brought prices down by a combined 9%. The precious metal is 0.5% higher on the year to date.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week

• January platinum rose by $8.20, 0.9%, to $889.40 an ounce, for a 0.7% weekly increase.

• Palladium for March delivery fell $13.30, or 1.3%, to $1,015.40 an ounce, but still registered a 1.9% weekly increase. On Thursday, the metal ended at its strongest price since February 2001.

The two remain mixed for the year so far with platinum down 1.8% and palladium up 48.6%.

London Precious Metals Prices

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

• Gold added $3.60, or 0.3%, to 1,254.60 an ounce.
• Silver declined 2.5 cents, or 0.2%, to $15.985 an ounce.
• Platinum rose $3, or 0.3%, to $882 an ounce.
• Palladium added $8, or 0.8%, to $1,028 an ounce.

For the week, advancing London bullion prices included gold by 0.3%, silver by 1% and palladium by 1.9%. Meanwhile, London platinum prices dropped by 1.1%.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017

United States Mint bullion sales rallied this week with gains in gold coins more than 20 times higher than last week and increases in silver coins more than 5 times higher than a week ago. In headline comparisons:

• Gold coins surged by 42,500 ounces this week —  the most since 105,000 ounces sold the week of Jan. 9 when the new 2017-dated editions launched, after climbing by just 2,000 ounces last week. Splits included 32,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles compared to 1,000 ounces previously, and 10,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos compared to 1,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.

• Silver coins advanced by 622,000 ounces this week after rising by 120,000 ounces last week. For a third week in a row, all sales came from American Silver Eagles.

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.