Precious Metals Log Weekly Gains

Precious metals declined on Friday, trimming their weekly gains which ranged from 2.2% to 5.9%.

Gold for December delivery declined $8.70, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,907.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"Gold picked up a bit overnight on the Trump [positive COVID-19] diagnosis news" but turned back downward "as it has become clear that the news has not sparked a panic rush out of equities into defensive havens like gold," Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management, told MarketWatch.

Gold futures traded up 2.2% this week after dropping 4.9% last week. They are 25.2% 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 analysts participated in the survey. Ten voters, or 63%, called for gold prices to rise; two analysts, or 13%, called for lower prices next week and four analysts, or 25%, said they see prices moving sideways…

A total of 1,194 votes were cast in online Main Street polls. Among those, 749 voters, or 63%, said they were bullish on gold next week. Another 245, or 21%, said they were bearish, while 198 voters, or 17%, were neutral."

Silver for December delivery lost 22.5 cents, or 0.9%, to close at $24.029. Silver futures advanced 4.1% this week after sinking 14.9% last week. They are 34.1% higher on the year.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

• January platinum fell $14.60, or 1.6%, to end at $891.40 an ounce, but still posted a 5.9% weekly increase.

• Palladium for December delivery lost $2.30, or 0.1%, to finish at $2,325 an ounce, yet scored a 4.6% weekly gain.

The two are divided on the year so far with platinum 13.9% lower and palladium 16.4% higher.

London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)

London precious metals prices ended divided on Friday and higher on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:

• Gold shed $1.05, or 0.06%, to $1,903.05 an ounce.
• Silver added 24.5 cents, or 1%, to $23.865 an ounce.
• Platinum declined $7, or 0.8%, to $891 an ounce.
• Palladium fell $22, or 0.9%, to $2,312 an ounce.

In LBMA weekly results, the gains reached 2.3% for gold, 5.5% for silver, 5.9% for platinum and 4.9% for palladium.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020

United States Mint bullion products logged stronger gains for a second week in a row. In week-over-week comparisons:

• Sales of American Gold Eagles advanced 15,000 ounces after increasing by 10,500 ounces last week.

• Sales of American Silver Eagles moved ahead 1,070,500 ounces after rising by 517,000 ounces last week.

• Sales of American Buffalo gold increased 6,500 ounces after they climbed 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. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.