Gold Ends Week At 7-Year High; Palladium Posts Another Record

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Gold bars and stock market
Gold ended at its best price since Feb. 12, 2013

Most precious metals futures moved higher on Friday and they all gained on the week. In milestones, silver ended near a five-month high, gold closed just above a seven-year high, and palladium ended at another record.

Gold for April delivery on Friday rose $28.30, or 1.8%, to settle at $1,648.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Feb. 12, 2013 when gold finished at $1,649.60 an ounce.

"Markets are once again anxious because the coronavirus outbreak is possibly spreading outside China. There is huge amount of safe-haven demand as economic slowdown in China, Japan and Germany is expected to persist in the first half of the year," Reuters quoted Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at broker OANDA.

Gold futures traded 3.9% higher this week following their 0.8% increase last week. They are up 8.3% on the year to date.

In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:

"Fifteen market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey. Fourteen, or 93%, called for gold to rise. Only one voter, or 7%, called for prices to fall, while nobody was neutral.

Meanwhile, 1,121 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll. A total of 820 voters, or 73%, looked for gold to rise in the next week. Another 192, or 17%, said lower, while 109, or 10%, were neutral."

Elsewhere, silver for March delivery tacked on 21.1 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $18.53 an ounce. The finish was the highest since Sept. 24  when silver closed at $18.628 an ounce. Silver futures traded 4.5% higher this week after rising 0.2% last week. They are 3.4% higher on the year.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

  • April platinum shed $2.90, or 0.3%, to $976.10 an ounce, but logged a 0.8% weekly gain.

  • Palladium for March delivery jumped $31.50, or 1.2%, to a record settlement of $2,605.40 an ounce. Palladium posted a 12.5% increase on the week.

For the year so far, platinum is 0.2% lower while palladium is 36.5% higher.

London Precious Metals Prices

London precious metals prices divided on Friday and increased as a group for the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:

  • Gold rose $24.30, or 1.5%, to $1,643.30 an ounce.
  • Silver added 17.5 cents, or 1%, to $18.56 an ounce.
  • Platinum declined $10, or 1%, to $976 an ounce.
  • Palladium dropped $18, or 0.7%, to $2,690 an ounce.

In LBMA weekly results, gains reached 3.9% for gold, 4.8% for silver, 0.4% for platinum, and 9.4% for palladium.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020

United States Mint bullion sales remain unreported for the week and month according to available figures from the Mint’s website. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.

US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins)
This Week / February November December 2020 Sales
$50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin 0 8,000 2,000 38,000
$25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin 0 5,000 0 23,000
$10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin 0 2,000 0 18,000
$5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 0 60,000
$50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin 0 5,000 1,500 21,000
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin 0 463,000 0 3,846,000
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin 0 463,000 0 14,500

 

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