Precious metals prices climbed Friday, cementing weekly gains for all but silver. Palladium registered a new record. Gold, meanwhile, extended its streak of weekly wins to four in a row.
Gold for February delivery on Friday advanced $9.80, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,560.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Jan. 7.
"Gold has struggled to shine this week as positive economic data from the United States and China cooled concerns over the global economy," said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM.
"Appetite towards the metal was also bruised by the ‘phase one’ [U.S.-China] deal, which offered some light at the end of the long trade war tunnel," he told MarketWatch.
Gold futures inched up 20 cents, or 0.01%, this week. The yellow metal’s four consecutive weekly gains have lifted prices by a combined $79.40, or 5.4%. Gold prices are 2.4% 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:
"Thirteen market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey. Ten, or 77%, called for gold to rise. There were no votes saying gold would fall, with three voters, or 23%, neutral or calling for a sideways market.
Meanwhile, 820 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll. A total of 475 voters, or 58%, looked for gold to rise in the next week. Another 208, or 25%, said lower, while 137, or 17%, were neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for March delivery rose 13.4 cents, or 0.8%, to end at $18.073 an ounce. Silver futures slipped 0.2% this week after dipping 0.3% last week. Before then, the precious metal had rallied a combined 9.4% through four straight weekly gains. Silver prices are 0.9% higher on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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April platinum jumped $23.60, or 2.4%, to finish at $1,024.80 an ounce, for a 3.9% weekly increase.
- Palladium for March delivery surged $47.10, or 2.2%, to a record settlement of $2,224.90 an ounce. Palladium scored a 7.3% weekly gain.
Both are higher on the year so far with increases of 4.8% of platinum and 16.5% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices moved mostly higher on Friday and they all advanced on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold rose $3.05, or 0.2%, to $1,557.60 an ounce.
- Silver added a nickel, or 0.3%, to $18.06 an ounce.
- Platinum shed $1, or 0.1%, to $1,016 an ounce.
- Palladium rose $142, or 6.1%, to $2,465 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, the gains totaled 0.3% for gold, 0.8% for silver, 4.9% for platinum, and 16.8% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
The United States Mint on Friday published bullion sales for the first time this year. These figures include newly minted coins as a week ago Monday, Jan. 6, the U.S. Mint released its 2020-dated American Eagle and Buffalo gold and silver bullion coins. Here is a summary of current sales and those from a year ago:
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American Silver Eagles reached 2,298,000 ounces compared to 3,556,000 ounces in the same period last year.
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A combined 34,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles sold versus the 60,000 ounces moved during the same time last year.
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American Buffalo gold coins total 10,500 ounces compared to 21,000 ounces in the same period last year.
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) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Sales | November | December | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 19,500 | 8,000 | 2,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin* | 13,000 | 5,000 | 0 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 14,000 | 2,000 | 0 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 45,000 | 0 | 0 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 10,500 | 5,000 | 1,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 2,298,000 | 463,000 | 0 |
