In futures trading Friday, only palladium logged an increase. On the week, however, it stood alone among metals with a loss. Weekly gains for gold and silver were their first in three weeks.
Gold for June delivery settled down $13.40, or 0.8%, to $1,744.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"While overall, gold market is bullish short-term, with expectations of a break higher through $1,760-65, caution about fresh 10- and 30-year (Treasury) auctions and the CPI report next week are keeping yields supported, keeping gold’s advance in check," Reuters quoted Tai Wong, head of base and precious metals derivatives trading at BMO. "Yields are driving most markets at (the) moment, directly impacting USD and stocks and all three matter to gold with varying impact."
Gold futures climbed 1% this week after modest losses of 0.2% last week and 0.8% in the week ending March 26. They are 7.9% 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, 15 Wall Street analysts participated in Kitco News’ gold survey. Among the participants, nine, or 60%, called for gold prices to rise; at the same time, bearish and neutral analysts were tied for another week, with each viewpoint garnering three votes, or 20%.
Meanwhile, a total of 1,201 votes were cast in online Main Street polls. Of these, 778 respondents, or 65%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 236, or 20%, said lower, while 187 voters, or 16%, were neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for May delivery gave back 26 cents, or 1%, to close at $25.325 an ounce. Silver futures traded 1.5% higher this week following losses of 0.7% last week and 4.6% for the week ended March 26. They are 4.1% lower on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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July platinum fell $26.10, or 2.1%, to $1,209.30 an ounce, trimming its weekly increase to just 70 cents or 0.06%.
- Palladium for June delivery added $7.70, or 0.3%, to $2,636 an ounce, but lost 0.8% on the week.
The two are higher on the year so far with gains of 12.1% for platinum and 7.4% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
The United States Mint reported no bullion sales last week. U.S. Mint published increases this week for core bullion products included:
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Sales of American Gold Eagles moved up 13,000 ounces.
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Sales of American Buffalo gold coins rose 3,500 ounces.
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Sales of American Silver Eagles added 596,000 ounces.
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 / April | January Sales | February Sales | March Sales | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 13,000 | 191,000 | 121,000 | 55,500 | 380,500 |
| $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 | 0 | 3,500 | 61,500 | 16,000 | 33,500 | 114,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 596,000 | 4,775,000 | 3,191,500 | 4,087,000 | 12,649,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A | 35,000 | 35,000 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 50,000 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 50,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
