Gold and silver futures declined Friday but gained on the week. Platinum rose on the day and week while palladium fell in both periods.
Gold for December delivery shed $4.90, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,468.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Overall trading gold has been impacted by the (U.S.-China) trade war and there is tremendous optimism with the final stages of getting stage one deal ratified," Reuters quoted Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at OANDA. "This has been the biggest headwind for the global economy and a major de-escalation is derailing the safe-haven demand.
Gold futures traded 0.4% higher this week after dropping 3.2% last week. The yellow metal is 14.6% higher on the year to date.
In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:
"A total of 15 market professionals took part in Kitco’s gold survey this week — representing the Wall Street side … Six of the analysts, or 37.5%, said they see gold moving higher next week, while another six, or 37.5%, said they project neutral prices. Another four, or 25%, voted for a move down in gold.
The Main Street side, on the other hand, kept its bullish hopes for next week. Out of the 473 total online responders, 290 votes, or 61.3%, called for higher prices; 104 votes, or 22%, projected lower prices; and another 79, or 16.7% called for neutral prices next week."
Elsewhere, silver for December delivery lost 8 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $16.948 an ounce. Silver futures traded 0.7% higher this week after plunging 6.8% last week. They are 9.1% higher on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
-
January platinum settled up $11.70, or 1.3%, to $894.50 an ounce, for a 0.2% weekly increase.
- Palladium for December delivery declined $19.60, or 1.2%, to close at $1,682.50 an ounce, for a decline on the week of 1.5%.
Both metals are higher on the year so far with gains of 11.7% for platinum and 40.5% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London gold and silver divided on Friday but gained together for the week. In comparing their latest day-over-day PM prices:
- Gold edged up 25 cents, or 0.002%, to $1,466.90 an ounce.
- Silver declined 16.5 cents, 1%, to $16.87 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, increases reached 0.2% for gold and 0.4% for silver.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales were mixed this week. In week-over-week comparisons:
-
Gold bullion sales climbed by 9,000 ounces after rising by 2,000 ounces last week. Splits for the week included 6,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 2,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos. Last week, American Gold Eagles accounted for all the gold sales.
-
American Silver Eagles rose by 65,000 ounces this week compared to 165,000 ounces last week.
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 | October | November | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 8,000 | 5,000 | 103,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 1,000 | 5,000 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 34,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 190,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,500 | 3,000 | 2,500 | 57,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 165,000 | 65,000 | 1,110,500 | 230,000 | 14,630,500 |
| San Antonio Missions 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17,500 | 0 | 55,200 |
| War in the Pacific 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 500 | 0 | 72,500 |
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | ||||
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 40,000 | ||||
