Gold Slips 0.9% on Week, Silver Logs 0.4% Weekly Decline

Precious metals futures declined Friday, and all but palladium dropped on the week. The weekly losses were modest. For gold, it was its first in five weeks.

Gold for February delivery shed $6, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,241.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the weakest since Dec. 3.

"Gold’s depreciation on Friday continues to highlight how the yellow metal’s near-term outlook remains heavily influenced by the dollar’s performance," MarketWatch quoted Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM, in a note.

Gold futures lost 0.9% this week after climbing by a combined 3.6% through four straight weekly gains. Last Friday, gold marked its best close since July 10. The yellow metal is 5.2% lower on the year to date.

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 Wall Street survey. There were seven votes, or 39%, for both higher and lower. The other four respondents, or 22%, called for gold to be sideways or else were neutral.

Meanwhile, 507 people responded to an online Main Street poll. A total of 291 respondents, or 57%, called for gold to rise. Another 115, or 23%, predicted gold would fall. The remaining 101 voters, or 20%, see a sideways market."

Elsewhere, silver for March delivery declined 21.8 cents, or 1.5%, to close at $14.637 an ounce. Silver futures slipped 0.4% this week after jumping 3.4% last week. On Thursday, the precious metal ended at its best price since Aug. 27. Silver is 14.6% lower on the year so far.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

• January platinum fell $12.20, or 1.5%, to $785.30 an ounce, for a 0.7% weekly decline.

• Palladium for March delivery dropped $19.10, or 1.6%, to $1,171.60 an ounce, but for the week edged up 80 cents (less than 0.1%). On Wednesday, the metal ended at a record of $1,194.50 an ounce.

The two are divided on the year with platinum 16.3% lower and palladium 10.4% higher.

London Precious Metals Prices

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

• Gold declined $7.40, or 0.6%, to 1,235.35 an ounce.
• Silver fell 10 cents, or 0.7%, to $14.58 an ounce.
• Platinum lost $10, or 1.3%, to $784 an ounce.
• Palladium declined $29, or 2.3%, to $1,233 an ounce.

In LBMA weekly results, silver and palladium respectively climbed 0.7% and 2.1% while both gold and platinum fell by 0.6%.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018

Demand for United States Mint bullion products was mixed from a week ago — stronger for gold coins and weaker for silver coins. In headline week-over-week comparisons:

• Gold bullion coins rose by 3,500 ounces this week after registering flat last week. Slits included 2,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 1,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.

• Silver bullion coins advanced by 100,000 ounces this week after rising by 150,000 ounces last week. For a second 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.