In futures trading Friday, losses in gold, silver and platinum brought them down on the week. Palladium, meanwhile, advanced on the day and week and also posted another record.
Gold for December delivery lost $8.80, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,506.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close was gold’s weakest since a week ago Thursday, Sept. 19.
"The metals market is more keen on the very strong U.S. dollar, which reached a new high for 2019 and has had the biggest influence on the price of gold the past couple days," MarketWatch quoted James Hatzigiannis, senior strategist at Long Leaf Trading Group.
Gold futures traded 0.6% lower this week after rising 1% last week. The precious metal is 17.6% higher on the year.
In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:
"This week, 16 market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey. A total of 8 voters or 50% called for gold to trade sideways next week. Meanwhile, 5 analysts or 31% said that they see higher prices in the near-term. Three analysts or 19% saw lower prices next week.
Meanwhile, 855 respondents took part in an online Main Street poll. Looking at the results, a total of 479 voters, or 56%, called for gold to rise. Another 222, or 26%, predicted gold would fall. The remaining 154 voters, or 18%, saw a sideways market."
Elsewhere, silver for December delivery settled down 26 cents, or 1.5%, to $17.652 an ounce. Silver futures traded 1.1% lower this week after rising 1.6% last week. They are 13.6% higher on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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January platinum fell $6.60, or 0.7%, to $936.10 an ounce, down 0.7% from last week’s most-active October contract.
- Palladium for December delivery added $10, or 0.6%, to $1,652.90 an ounce for a new record settlement. Palladium posted a 1.7% weekly increase.
Both metals are higher on the year so far with gains of 16.9% for platinum and 38.1% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices ended lower on Friday and for the week. In comparing their latest day-over-day PM prices:
- Gold fell $16.50, or 1.1%, to $1,489.90 an ounce.
- Silver declined 45 cents, or 2.5%, to $17.52 an ounce.
- Platinum fell $7, or 0.8%, to $925 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, prices declined 0.8% for gold, 2% for silver, and 1.6% for platinum.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion performances improved for silver coins and held steady, overall, for gold coins. In week-over-week comparisons:
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Gold bullion sales climbed by 1,000 ounces for a second straight week. This week, sales came entirely from American Gold Eagles. Splits last week included 500 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins.
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American Silver Eagles advanced by 50,000 ounces after registering flat last week.
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Five-ounce America the Beautiful silver coins were muted for a second week in a row.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint 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) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | Last Week | This Week | August | September | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 500 | 5,500 | 3,500 | 90,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 24,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 30,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 10,000 | 170,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 0 | 1,500 | 1,000 | 50,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 50,000 | 1,007,000 | 736,000 | 13,005,000 |
| War in the Pacific 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,500 | 2,500 | 72,000 |
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 80,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | ||||
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 40,000 | ||||
