Gold and silver prices declined Friday, padding their weekly losses. Platinum also ended lower on the day but still rallied overall on the week. Palladium, meanwhile, gained in both periods.
Gold for June delivery on Friday fell $32.90, or 1.9%, to settle at $1,698.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since April 8.
"Risk appetite is soaring, but it might be overdone as permanent damage to the economy will see a battered U.S. consumer," Reuters quoted Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at broker OANDA, in a note. "Gold will remain supported by the boatload of monetary and fiscal stimulus that will be in place for the foreseeable future. In the event of a deeper pullback, the $1,650 level remains key support."
Gold futures traded 3.1% lower this week after soaring 6.5% last week. As recently as Tuesday, they ended at highest price since Oct. 11, 2012. The yellow metal is 11.5% 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:
"During the last two weeks, 100% and 92% of the market professionals who take part in the poll gave bullish short-term outlooks on gold.
This time, only 47% of the participants are bullish, with seven out of 15 voters saying they expect the metal to rise next week. Six voters, or 40%, called for lower prices, while two, or 13%, were neutral.
Meanwhile, 1,683 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll. A total of 1,144 voters, or 68%, looked for gold to rise in the next week. Another 305, or 18%, said lower, while 234, or 14%, were neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for May delivery declined 32.7 cents, or 2.1%, to settle at $15.295 an ounce. The close was also the weakest since April 8. Silver futures traded 4.7% lower this week after rallying 10.8% last week. They are 14.7% lower on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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July platinum shed $8, or 1%, to $785.30 an ounce, but scored a 4.9% weekly increase.
- Palladium for June delivery rose $10.20, or 0.5%, to $2,130.90 an ounce, advancing 1% on the week.
The two are divided on the year so far with platinum down 19.7% and palladium up 11.6%.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
London precious metals prices mostly declined on Friday and divided on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold declined $36.95, or 2.1%, to $1,692.55 an ounce.
- Silver fell 34 cents, or 2.2%, to $15.16 an ounce.
- Platinum fell $10, or 1.3%, to $780 an ounce.
- Palladium gained $15, or 0.7%, to $2,154 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, gold rose 0.7%, silver dipped 0.1%; platinum jumped 6.1% and palladium slipped 0.6%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
In United States Mint bullion sales this week, orders picked up overall for gold and platinum coins. Silver sales were muted, although CoinNews is awaiting word from U.S. Mint officials on how many of its five-ounce coins have sold so far as none have been reported in 2020. In week-over-week comparisons:
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Sales of American Platinum Eagles increased by 1,500 coins after registering flat last week.
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Sales of American Gold Eagles rose by 11,000 ounces after rising by 12,000 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Silver Eagles were flat after climbing by 350,000 coins last week.
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Sales of American Buffalo gold coins rose by 4,000 ounces after having no gains two straight weeks.
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) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | Last Week | This Week | January | February | March | April | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 12,000 | 11,000 | 38,000 | 3,500 | 133,000 | 56,500 | 231,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23,000 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 0 | 33,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 20,000 | 0 | 40,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60,000 | 20,000 | 95,000 | 0 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 21,000 | 1,000 | 47,500 | 4,000 | 73,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 350,000 | 0 | 3,846,000 | 650,000 | 5,482,500 | 350,000 | 10,328,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 14,500 | 9,300 | 31,200 | 1,500 | 56,500 |
