Gold Declines While Silver Gains In January; U.S. Mint Bullion Sales Surge

Precious metals finished mostly higher on Friday yet ended mostly lower for the week. Silver, actually, was by itself with gains on the week and month. Gold, meanwhile, logged its first increase in seven sessions but still ended lower from where it finished in 2020.

Gold for April delivery on Friday advanced $9.10, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,850.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"Gold is largely going to continue to tread water as it is waiting for a proper catalyst," Reuters quoted Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets.

Gold future shed 0.3% this week after increasing 1.4% last week. On Thursday, they settled at their lowest price since Jan. 10. Gold prices declined 2.4% in January.

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. A total of nine voters each, or 56%, called for gold prices to rise next week; meanwhile, three participants, or 19%, said they were bearish, and four analysts, or 25%, said they were neural on gold next week…

This week, 906 votes were cast in the online survey. Among those, 560, or 62%, said they were bullish on gold next week. Another 186 participants, or 21%, said they were bearish, while 160 voters, or 18%, were neutral on the precious metal."

Elsewhere, silver for March delivery surged 99.2 cents, or 3.8%, to finish at $26.914 an ounce. The close was silver’s highest since Jan. 7. Silver futures traded 5.3% this week following gains of 2.8% last week and 0.9% for the week ended Jan. 15. They rose 1.9% for the month.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

• April platinum added $6.80, or 0.6%, to $1,079.20 an ounce, but posted a 2.9% weekly loss.

• Palladium for March delivery dropped $113.90, or 4.9%, to $2,208.40 an ounce, for a 6.6% decline on the week.

For January, platinum was flat while palladium plunged 10%.

London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)

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

• Gold rose $10.10, or 0.5%, to $1,863.80 an ounce.
• Silver soared $2.21, or 8.8%, to $27.415 an ounce.
• Platinum added $20, or 1.8%, to $1,110 an ounce.
• Palladium rose $13, or 0.6%, to $2,327 an ounce.

In LBMA weekly results, prices for palladium fell 1.2% while they rose 0.6% for gold, 8.3% for silver, and 1.6% for platinum.

As for LBMA prices in January, they declined 1.4% for gold, advanced 3.5% for silver, increased 3.3% for platinum and fell 1.8% for palladium.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021

United States Mint bullion sales surged in January compared to December and to the same month last year. January is always strong for U.S. Mint bullion products as newly dated coins are released. In headline monthly comparisons:

• American Eagle gold coins moved up 220,500 ounces in January, marking gains of 345.5% from sales of 49,500 ounces in December and 267.5% from sales of 60,000 ounces in January 2020.

• American Eagle silver coins rose this month by 4,775,000 ounces, for increases of 535.8% from sales of 751,000 ounces in December and 24.2% from sales of 3,846,000 ounces in January of last year.

• American Buffalo gold coins advanced 61,500 ounces in January, registering gains of 485.7% from sales of 10,500 ounces in December and 192.9% from sales of 21,000 ounces in January 2020.

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.