Precious metals rebounded Friday but they still registered weekly losses that ranged from 0.1% for platinum to 4.7% to palladium. Gains in gold and silver lifted them from prior-day settlements that reached from more than one to over two year lows.
Gold for August delivery rose $7.10, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,231.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold futures did get near-term overextended to the downside this week and President Trump’s comments that stalled the dollar rally are offering some relief to gold…and a retracement back towards the mid $1,200’s is becoming more likely," MarketWatch quoted Tyler Richey, co-editor of the Sevens Report.
Gold futures logged their second weekly decline — down 0.8% this week after falling 1.2% last week. The yellow metal has fallen in five of the last six weeks and it is now 6% lower on the year to date. On Thursday, gold prices ended at their weakest price since July 13, 2017.
In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:
"Eighteen market professionals took part in the survey. There were nine votes, or 50%, calling for gold prices to fall. There were six votes, or 33%, calling for gold to rise, while three voters, or 17%, look for a sideways market.
Meanwhile, 868 voters responded in an online Main Street survey. A total of 446 respondents, or 51%, predicted that gold prices would be lower in a week. Another 319 voters, or 37%, said gold will rise, while 103, or 12%, see a sideways market."
Elsewhere, silver for September tacked on 14.7 cents, or 1%, to close at $15.549 an ounce. Silver futures shed 1.7% this week and have now dropped a combined 7.1 % in their six consecutive weekly losses. On Thursday, they marked their lowest close since April 8, 2016. The metal is 9.3% lower on the year so far.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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October platinum fell $23.20, or 2.9%, to $829.50 an ounce, dipping 0.1% on the week.
- Palladium for September delivery rose $22.70, or 2.6%, to $888.90 an ounce, for a 4.7% weekly decline.
The pair is lower on the year to date with losses of 11.6% for platinum and 16.2% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices also finished higher on Friday but lower on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold rose $11.20, or 0.9%, to 1,228.75 an ounce.
- Silver gained 11 cents, or 0.7%, to $15.37 an ounce.
- Platinum jumped $26, or 3.3%, to $824 an ounce.
- Palladium rose $6, or 0.7%, to $892 an ounce.
In LBMA results for the week, the losses reached 1% for gold, 2.8% for silver, 0.8% for platinum, and 5.5% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion products were divided this week with sales of gold coins moving significantly quicker and silver coins selling slower. In headline weekly comparisons:
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Gold bullion coins rose by 20,500 ounces this week after they advanced by 11,500 ounces last week. Splits included 13,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles against 6,000 ounces previously and 7,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos compared to 5,500 ounces previously.
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Silver bullion coins moved up by 180,000 this week after rising by 290,000 last week. For a third week in a row sales came entirely from American Silver Eagles.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | Last Week | This Week | June | July | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 3,000 | 6,000 | 11,000 | 21,500 | 23,500 | 111,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 48,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 15,000 | 20,000 | 145,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 7,000 | 5,500 | 7,500 | 6,500 | 18,500 | 72,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 290,000 | 180,000 | 435,000 | 545,000 | 7,367,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
Seems like we lost a lot of folks that use to reply quite regularly. Why is that?
Looks like they dumped the + – option — That’s too bad
The Trend is not our friend! Many silver specials abound from the bigies & Auth dealers… seems like they expect a little more of a tumble- could $<11 even be in play, the co$t of production approx!