Precious metals futures advanced Friday, padding their weekly gains. In the notable column, both gold and silver posted their sixth straight weekly wins.
Gold for August delivery rose $9.70 or 0.5%, to settle at $1,810 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Negative real interest rates, ballooning central bank balance sheets, weaker U.S. dollar and still-rising COVID-19 cases are enhancing the safe-haven appeal of the yellow metal," Reuters quoted ANZ commodity strategist Soni Kumari.
"Now, escalating tension between the U.S. and China is another tailwind for the market."
Gold prices edged ahead 0.5% this week. They are 18.8% 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, 16 Wall Street professionals who took part in this week’s poll, 11, or 69%, called for gold prices to rise. One analysts, or 6%, predicted lower prices. Meanwhile four votes or 25% expected prices to trade sideways.
A total of 1,642 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll. Of these, 977 respondents, or 60%, looked for gold to rise in the next week. Another 348, or 21%, said lower, while 317 voters, or 19%, were neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for September delivery added 19.1 cents, or 1%, to close at $19.764 an ounce. Silver futures surged 3.7% this week. On Monday they settled at $19.788 an ounce for their highest finish since Sept. 23. They are 10.3% higher on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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October platinum added $12.60, or 1.5%, to end at $849.60 an ounce, for a 0.4% weekly increase.
- Palladium for September delivery jumped $46.60, or 2.3%, to finish at $2,071.70 an ounce, advancing on the week by 3.9%.
The two are divided on the year so far with platinum down 13.1% and palladium up 8.5%.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
London precious metals prices were mixed on Friday and mostly higher on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold dipped 35 cents, or 0.02%, to $1,807.35 an ounce.
- Silver fell 8.5 cents, or 0.4%, to $19.16 an ounce.
- Platinum rose $2, or 0.2%, to $824 an ounce.
- Palladium advanced $31, or 1.6%, to $2,023 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, prices for platinum declined 1.3% while those for gold, silver and palladium gained 0.2%, 2.1%, and 4.1%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales slowed overall from a week ago. In week-over-week comparisons:
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Sales of American Gold Eagles rose by 5,000 ounces after increasing by 9,000 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Silver Eagles were flat for a second week in a row.
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Sales of American Buffalo gold were flat after they increased by 5,000 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 | This Week | May | June | July | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,500 | 5,000 | 5,500 | 42,500 | 13,500 | 341,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 41,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 12,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 56,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 2,500 | 7,500 | 5,000 | 131,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 490,000 | 1,378,000 | 0 | 12,596,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 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.
