Platinum gained on Friday while gold, silver and palladium declined. All the metals, however, dropped on the week. Palladium and silver finished the day at their lowest price since July 2020. Gold, meanwhile, closed Friday at a more than five-week low.
Gold for December delivery shed $5.30, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,751.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Aug. 10 when gold closed at $1,731.70 an ounce.
Gold shed 2.3% this week, matching its loss last week. Before then, the yellow metal logged four weeks of gains that had raised prices by a combined $70.60 or 4%. Gold is 7.6% 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 15 Wall Street analysts participated in Kitco News’ gold survey. Bearish and neutral sentiment was tied this week, each garnering seven votes or 47%. At the same time, one analyst or 7% was bullish on gold…
…A total of 757 votes were cast in online polls. Of these, 339 respondents, or 45%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 294, or 39%, said lower, while 124 voters, or 16%, were neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for December delivery dropped 45.7 cents, or 2%, to close at $22.337 an ounce. The settlement was the weakest since silver ended at $21.557 an ounce on July 21, 2020. Silver prices sank 6.5% this week after falling 3.6% last week. They are down 15.4% on the year.
In other precious metal futures on Friday and for the week:
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October platinum rose $7.30, or 0.8%, to end at $930.60 an ounce, but posted a 2.7% weekly loss.
- Palladium for December delivery fell $37.70, or 1.9%, to settle at $1,983.80 an ounce, for a 6.7% weekly decline. The close was the lowest since palladium finished at $1,963.20 an ounce on July 9, 2020.
Both metals are down on the year so far with losses of 13.8% for platinum and 19.2% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
United States Mint bullion sales this week quickened overall for gold and silver coins. In week-over-week comparisons:
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Sales of American Gold Eagles rose 33,000 ounces after increasing 20,000 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Buffalo gold coins increased 5,500 ounces after climbing 10,000 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Silver Eagles rose 1,500,000 ounces after increasing 750,000 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.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | Last Week | This Week | August | September | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 20,000 | 19,500 | 29,500 | 112,000 | 49,000 | 795,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 21,000 | 3,000 | 80,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 34,000 | 6,000 | 126,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 50,000 | 10,000 | 340,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 10,000 | 5,500 | 27,500 | 15,500 | 251,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 750,000 | 1,500,000 | 3,930,000 | 2,250,000 | 25,190,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,900 |
They probably will, but it won’t change the price we paid. They reduced the AGE set to $4962.50 from $5055 and even though my set didn’t ship for 10 days after the price reduction, they still billed me for the original amount. On my order history page, it even showed the lower price for the set! I wouldn’t hold my breath for a reduction in what we’re billed…you’ll only pass out!
That would be an interesting phone call to customer service.
”Good morning. It would seem I have been charged $5,055, yet my order clearly states $4,962.50”.
we know it would go no where
Kaiser, Tranquilo. All in good x. I just got the initial ship message for my 3 T2 W ASEs. Granted, I can’t speak to why you’ve been charged for the reverse proof set & have seen no progress, but these weren’t subscriptions or whatever, right? I think we were all in the same boat? I’d like to tell ya I could trust my ‘status’ on the site re any orders, but they are never right, in my experience anyway. I always have to wait for shipping info. Has anyone been shipped the rev proof set? Maybe so. If that’s the… Read more »
Sir Kaiser, I am also still waiting for all my Precious. Outside of my enrollments which have been received, I am so backed up with so many ASE Type 2 orders, and not to mention all six of the Morgan/Peace Silver Dollars, that it’s hard to see straight. The Mint tried to release to many of these offerings over too short a time period that they clogged up the fulfillment/shipping lanes and just can’t deliver the goods in a timely manner. Oh, and I’m sure they will blame it on da Rona.
Sir Kaiser, you’re killing me. Thanks for the chuckles.
But they said the price inflation is only transitory?
Well Sir Kaiser, please excuse the confusion caused. After doing a little digging I found that the term transitory was inappropriate to use for our purposes. Price inflation is more like a steady march with a few jumps along the way. Looking at an example of the $1 Proof American Silver Eagles for purchase directly from the Mint, here are the original prices going back 16 years: 2021 = $73.00 2020 = $73.00 2019 = $55.95 2018 = $55.95 2017 = $53.95 2016 = $53.95 2015 = $48.95 2014 = $52.95 2013 = $62.95 2012 = $59.95 2011 = $59.95… Read more »
In addition to non-transitory price inflation for shiny metal objects, for those of us who also purchase other things such as food, clothing, and other consumables, we are seeing prices moving in only one direction – and it isn’t down.
Right on the money, Sir Kaiser. That’s why gold and silver have always been valuable – because they are a store of value.