Precious metals mixed it up on Friday but they all racked up impressive weekly gains. Silver declined for a second straight day after notching an almost seven-year high on Wednesday, yet still shot up more than $3 from a week ago. Gold, meanwhile, extended its streak of wins to six sessions and ended Friday at an all-time high.
Gold for August delivery advanced $7.50, or 0.4%, to a record settlement of $1,897.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Looking at the longer term outlook, the currently very uncertain macro backdrop paired with unprecedented stimulus measures and near record-low interest rates, the gold rally should be sustainable for months and likely quarters to come," Tyler Richey, co-editor at Sevens Report Research, told MarketWatch.
Gold futures jumped 4.8% this week after climbing 0.5% last week. They are 24.6% 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, 14 Wall Street professionals took part in this week’s poll, 11, or 79%, called for gold prices to rise. Two analysts, or 14%, predicted lower prices. Meanwhile, one analyst, or 7%, expected prices to trade sideways.
A total of 1,870 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll. Of these, 1,334 respondents, or 72%, looked for gold to rise in the next week. Another 317, or 17%, said lower, while 219 voters, or 12%, were neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for September delivery shed 13.8 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $22.85 an ounce. Despite two days of consecutive losses, silver prices scored a weekly increase of $3.09 or 15.6%. On Wednesday, they closed at their highest price since Sept. 19, 2013. Silver is 27.5% higher on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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October platinum fell $7.80, or 0.8%, to $956 an ounce, but logged a 12.5% weekly increase.
- Palladium for September delivery surged $54.30, or 2.4%, to $2,294.10 an ounce, for a 10.7% weekly gain.
The two are split on the year so far with platinum down 2.2% and palladium up 20.2%
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
London precious metals prices were mixed on Friday and higher on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold rose $23.80, or 1.3%, to $1,902.10 an ounce.
- Silver declined 38.5 cents, or 1.7%, to $22.475 an ounce.
- Platinum added $19, or 2.1%, to $925 an ounce.
- Palladium advanced $59, or 2.8%, to $2,185 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, the gains reached 5.2% for gold, 17.3% for silver, 12.3% for platinum, and 8% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales soared from a week ago. In week-over-week comparisons:
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Sales of American Gold Eagles advanced 68,500 ounces after increasing by 5,000 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Silver Eagles moved ahead 623,500 ounces after having been flat for two straight weeks.
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Sales of American Buffalo gold increased 9,500 ounces after they finished flat 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 | 5,000 | 44,500 | 5,500 | 42,500 | 70,500 | 398,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 45,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 12,000 | 2,000 | 10,000 | 64,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | 200,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 9,500 | 2,500 | 7,500 | 14,500 | 140,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 623,500 | 490,000 | 1,378,000 | 623,500 | 13,220,000 |
| $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.
