Precious metals posted gains on Friday but only palladium moved higher on the week. Weekly losses for gold and silver were their first in three weeks.
Gold for April delivery on Friday rose $7.20, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,732.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Dips are being bought and rallies are being sold into (in the gold market) … there are clearly two definitive sides of a coin and this is the main focal point," MarketWatch quoted David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
Gold futures shed 0.5% this week following two straight weekly gains each at 1.3%. They are 8.6% lower 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 analysts participated in Kitco News’ gold survey. Among the participants, 7, or 44%, called for gold prices to rise; eight analysts, or 50%, said they expect to see lower prices, and one vote, or 6%, was neutral on the precious metal.
Meanwhile, A total of 807 votes were cast in online Main Street polls. Of these, 377 respondents, or 47%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 255, or 32%, said lower, while 175 voters, or 22%, were neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for May delivery added 6.7 cents, or 0.3%, to close at $25.114 an ounce. Silver futures tumbled 4.6% this week following gains of 1.6% last week and 2.5% in the week ended March 12. They are 4.9% lower on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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April platinum tacked on $23.70, or 2.1%, to end at $1,177.90 an ounce, but still logged a 1.9% weekly loss.
- Palladium for June delivery surged $60.70, or 2.3%, to finish at $2,676.10 an ounce, for a 1.7% weekly increase.
The two are higher on the year so far with gains of 9.2% for platinum and 9.1% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
United States Mint bullion products compared to a week ago performed stronger overall for gold coins and silver coins. In week-over-week comparisons:
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Sales of American Gold Eagles moved up 10,500 ounces after they increased 15,500 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Buffalo gold coins rose 17,500 ounces after gaining 4,000 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Silver Eagles added 850,000 ounces after rising 691,000 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Platinum Eagles were flat for a second week in a row.
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.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | Last Week | This Week | January Sales | February Sales | March Sales | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 15,500 | 10,500 | 191,000 | 121,000 | 45,000 | 357,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22,000 | 9,000 | 0 | 31,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 56,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 95,000 | 0 | 55,000 | 150,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 17,500 | 61,500 | 16,000 | 32,500 | 110,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 691,000 | 850,000 | 4,775,000 | 3,191,500 | 3,302,000 | 11,268,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A | 35,000 | 35,000 |
| America Samoa 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Weir Farm 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Salt River Bay 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marsh Billings 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tallgrass Prairie 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
