Precious metals finished mixed Friday with silver and palladium rising and gold and platinum falling. Both gold and silver scored their fifth straight weekly gains.
Gold for August delivery shed $1.90, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,801.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold has risen quite a bit in the past week along with exponential flows in the ETFs," Reuters quoted George Gero, managing director at RBC Wealth Management.
"Now that the weekend is approaching with a strong equity market, investors are taking advantage and booking profit to take positions in riskier assets."
Gold prices advanced 0.7% this week. On Wednesday they ended at $1,820.60 an ounce for their highest settlement since Sept. 14, 2011. The yellow metal is 18.3% 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:
"Of the 17 Wall Street professionals who took part in this week’s poll, 15, or 88%, called for gold prices to rise. Two analysts, or 12%, predicted lower prices. There were no neutral votes in this week’s survey.
A total of 1,610 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll. Of these, 1078 respondents, or 67%, looked for gold to rise in the next week. Another 300, or 17%, said lower, while 232 voters, or 14%, were neutral."
Silver for September delivery added 9.1 cents, or 0.5%, to end at $19.053 an ounce. Silver prices surged 4% this week. On Wednesday they closed at $19.161 an ounce for their best settlement since Sept. 4, 2019. They are 6.3% higher on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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October platinum slipped $1, or 0.1%, to settle at $845.90 an ounce, but registered a 1.7% weekly increase.
- Palladium for September delivery tacked on $31.20, or 1.6%, to close at $1,994.40 an ounce, for a 3.5% weekly gain.
The two are divided on the year so far with platinum down 13.5% and palladium up 4.5%.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
London precious metals prices declined on Friday but gained on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold fell $9, or 0.5%, to $1,803.10 an ounce.
- Silver lost 6.5 cents, or 0.4%, to $18.77 an ounce.
- Platinum declined $21, or 2.5%, to $835 an ounce.
- Palladium fell $26, or 1.3%, to $1,944 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, advances reached 1.7% for gold, 4.2% for silver, 3.3% for platinum and 2% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion products divided this week from last with gold sales higher and silver sales lower. In week-over-week comparisons:
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Sales of American Gold Eagles advanced by 9,000 ounces after increasing by 2,000 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Silver Eagles were flat after they climbed by 471,000 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Buffalo gold coins moved ahead 5,000 ounces after they increased by 3,000 ounces last week.
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 | May | June | This Week / July | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 5,500 | 42,500 | 8,500 | 336,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 41,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 12,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 56,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 3,000 | 2,500 | 7,500 | 5,000 | 131,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 471,000 | 490,000 | 1,378,000 | 0 | 12,596,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56,500 |
In terms of 5-ounce silver bullion sales for 2020, the U.S. Mint is working on getting them automated and reported. Initial U.S. Mint-provided figures have the first two 2020-dated pieces at 45,000 produced and sold per issue. These amounts are being verified.
