Gold prices fell on Friday while they climbed for silver, platinum and palladium. Gold’s loss on the day not only brought it into negative territory for the week but also for the year.
Gold for August delivery dropped $16.80, or 0.9%, to settle at $1,879.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
As for the week, gold posted a second straight 0.7% decline. Before then, the yellow metal scored a string of four weekly increases that had raised its price by a combined 7.8%. Gold prices have fallen 0.8% 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 analysts participated in Kitco News’ gold survey. In an unprecedented result, there was a three-way tie, with each scenario garnering five votes.
Meanwhile, a total of 1,056 votes were cast in online Main Street surveys. Of these, 695 respondents, or 66%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 181 respondents, or 17%, said lower, while 180 voters, or 17%, were also neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for July delivery tacked on 11.5 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $28.146 an ounce. Silver prices advanced 0.9% this week after slipping 0.4% last week. They are 6.6% higher on the year.
In other precious metals futures on Friday and for the week:
-
July platinum rose $5.10, or 0.5%, to close at $1,151.10 an ounce, but fell 1.1% on the week.
- Palladium for September delivery added $3.10, or 0.1%, to finish at $2,780.80 an ounce, but logged a 2.2% weekly loss.
The two are still higher on the year so far with gains of 6.7% for platinum and 13.3% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
Last week, the United States Mint published no bullion sales gains. The U.S. Mint this week reported bullion increases of 4,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 7,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
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 | March Sales | April Sales | May | This Week / June | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 55,500 | 38,500 | 20,500 | 4,000 | 430,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 55,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 150,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 6,000 | 0 | 33,500 | 11,000 | 44,000 | 7,000 | 173,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,087,000 | 1,053,000 | 0 | 0 | 13,106,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 35,000 | 0 | 40,000 | 0 | 75,000 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | N/A | 50,000 | 2,900 | 0 | 52,900 |
