Gold closed at a fresh, more than two-week high Friday, boosting its weekly win streak to five in a row.
Gold for February delivery rose $6.50, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,571.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the strongest since Jan. 7.
"Mounting concerns about the (coronavirus) virus ahead of the weekend are driving accumulation of gold. … Clearly, the headlines will get worse before they get better," Reuters quoted Tai Wong, head of base and precious metals derivatives trading at BMO.
Gold futures advanced 0.7% in this holiday-shortened week, lifting their five weeks of gains to a combined $91, or 6.1%. The yellow metal is 3.2% 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:
"This week, 18 market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey. Ten, or 59%, called for gold to rise. There were only two votes or 12% saying gold would fall; five voters, or 19%, were neutral or called for a sideways market.
Meanwhile, 789 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll. A total of 525 voters, or 67%, looked for gold to rise in the next week. Another 145, or 18%, said lower, while 119, or 15%, were neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for March delivery jumped 28.4 cents, or 1.6%, to finish at $18.113 an ounce. The close was the highest since Jan. 8.
Silver futures climbed 0.2% this week following losses of 0.2% last week and 0.3% in the week ended Jan. 10. Before then, silver prices soared a combined 9.4% through four straight weekly gains. They are 1.1% higher on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
-
April platinum rose $3.30, or 0.3%, to $1,010.60 an ounce, but lost 1.4% on the week.
- Palladium for March delivery declined $12.70, or 0.6%, to $2,316.30 an ounce, but still registered a 4.1% weekly increase. On Wednesday, the metal posted a record settlement of $2,335.60 an ounce.
The pair has gains for the year so far — 3.4% for platinum and 21.3% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices moved higher on Friday but they mostly declined on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold added $1.40, or 0.1%, to $1,564.30 an ounce.
- Silver rose 23 cents, or 1.3%, to $17.83 an ounce.
- Platinum added $12, or 1.2%, to $1,013 an ounce.
- Palladium rose $45, or 1.9%, to $2,455 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, prices for gold rose 0.4% while the others declined — 1.3% for silver, 0.3% for platinum, and 0.4% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged this week according to available figures from the Mint’s website. Last Friday, Jan. 17, the Mint published updated sales for the first time this year which included results for new 2020-dated American Eagle and Buffalo bullion coins.
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 / This Week | November | December | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 19,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin* | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 13,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 14,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 10,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 463,000 | 0 | 2,298,000 |
