Gold, silver and platinum prices changed modestly on Friday. All three logged weekly wins. Palladium, meanwhile, dropped on the day and for the week.
On Friday, gold for April delivery rose $3.70, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,807.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The zero rates and massive [quantitative easing] which helped gold and the Nasdaq soar during 2020s COVID shock are now being removed, but gold is holding firmer first because it peaked sooner and so is now far less stretched, and second because — across longer time frames — the precious metals tends to do well when equities lose value," Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault, told MarketWatch.
Gold futures traded 1.2% higher this week after falling 2.5% last week. They are 1.1% 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 17 Wall Street analysts participated in Kitco News’ gold survey. Among the participants, five, or 29%, called for gold prices to rise. In the same survey bearish and neutral votes each garnered six votes or 35%.
Meanwhile, 683 votes were cast in online Main Street polls. Of these, 385 respondents, or 56%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 152, or 22%, said lower, while 146 voters, or 21%, were neutral in the near term."
Elsewhere, silver for March edged up 10 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $22.475 an ounce. Silver prices moved up 0.8% this week after sinking 8.3% last week. They are 3.8% lower on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
-
April platinum shed $6.10, or 0.6%, to end at $1,024.20 an ounce, trimming its weekly increase to 1.8%.
- Palladium for March delivery fell $527, or 1.2%, to end at $2,290.70 an ounce, for a 3.6% weekly loss. Last Friday, palladium at $2,375.30 an ounce posted its best settlement since Sept. 3.
Both metals are well ahead on the year so far with gains of 6% for platinum and 19.8% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
United States Mint bullion products divided this week when compared to last week with sales of gold coins higher and those of silver coins lower. In week-over-week comparisons:
- American Gold Eagles rose 15,500 ounces against 28,500 ounces last week,
- American Gold Buffalos added 8,500 ounces compared to 11,000 ounces last week, and
- American Silver Eagles rose 500,000 ounces against 1 million 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 | December | January | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 22,500 | 13,500 | 41,000 | 123,500 | 123,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 1,000 | 45,000 | 45,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 64,000 | 64,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 30,000 | 15,000 | 0 | 195,000 | 195,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 11,000 | 8,500 | 10,500 | 61,500 | 61,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,000,000 | 500,000 | 0 | 5,001,000 | 5,001,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Is this what you are referring to, Sir Kaiser?
“In week-over-week comparisons: American Gold Eagles rose 15,500 ounces against 28,500 ounces last week, and
American Gold Buffalos added 8,500 ounces compared to 11,000 ounces last week.”