Gold, platinum and palladium prices not only declined on Friday but also for the week. Palladium took the biggest hit on the day and week, just a few days after scoring a record settlement. Silver, meanwhile, ended Friday at a more than two-week high.
Gold for February delivery shed $3.50, or 0.2%, to end at $1,480.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold has been trading in a very narrow range since the first week of November," said Kevin Rich, consultant for The Perth Mint, in an interview with MarketWatch. "But it’s remarkable how resilient gold has been all year long, even with record equities and dollar strength."
Gold futures lost 30 cents, or 0.02%, this week after gaining 1.1% last week. On Thursday, they scored their best finish since Dec. 3. The yellow metal is 15.6% 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:
"Seventeen market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey. There were nine votes, or 53%, for higher prices. Another seven voters, or 41%, were neutral or called for a sideways market. Just one voter, or 6%, said lower.
Meanwhile, 677 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll. A total of 383 voters, or 57%, looked for gold to rise in the next week. Another 156, or 23%, said lower, while 138, or 20%, were neutral."
Silver for March delivery rose 7 cents, or 0.4%, to close at $17.224 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since Dec. 3. Silver futures traded 1.3% up on the week after jumping 2.5% last week. They are 10.8% higher on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
-
January platinum dropped $21.70, or 2.3%, to settle at $913.80 an ounce, for a 1.6% weekly decline.
- Palladium for March delivery sank $92.10, or 4.8%, to $1,808.90 an ounce, for a loss on the week of 4.4%. On Monday, they settled at a record of $1,963.60 an ounce.
Both metals remain higher on the year so far with advances of 14.1% for platinum and 51.1% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London gold and silver gained on Friday and for the week. In comparing their latest day-over-day PM prices:
- Gold rose $2.30, or 0.2%, to $1,479 an ounce.
- Silver added 9.5 cents, or 0.6%, to $17.035 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, the increases totaled 0.9% for gold and 0.6% for silver.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales registered gains this week of 1,500 in American Gold Eagle 1 ounce coins and 1,500 in American Gold Buffalo 1 ounce coins. Mint sales were flat 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 | November | December | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 108,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 38,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 195,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 61,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 463,000 | 0 | 14,863,500 |
| Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 5,000 | 25,000 |
| San Antonio Missions 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55,200 |
| War in the Pacific 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 | ||||
