Palladium declined sharply on Friday while gold, silver and platinum rose modestly. Only gold marked a weekly gain — a fifth straight, and it also scored another nine-month high.
Rising for a second consecutive session, gold for February delivery climbed $4.30, or 0.2%, to finish at $1,928.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was gold’s highest since it ended at $1,934.30 an ounce on April 22.
Gold prices for the week edged up 0.3%. The precious metal is 5.6% higher 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, 18 Wall Street analysts participated in the Kitco News Gold Survey. Among the participants, eight analysts, or 44%, were bullish on gold in the near term. At the same time, four analysts, or 22%, were bearish for next week and six analysts, or 33%, saw prices trading sideways.
Meanwhile, 783 votes were cast in online polls. Of these, 500 respondents, or 64%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 169, or 22%, said it would be lower, while 114 voters, or 15%, were neutral in the near term."
Also gaining for a second session, silver for March delivery settled up 6.5 cents, or 0.3%, to $23.935 an ounce. Silver prices fell 1.8% this week after rising 1.6% last week. Last Friday, silver at $24.372 an ounce registered its best settlement since April 21.
In PGM prices on Friday and for the week:
-
April platinum added $6.70, or 0.6%, to end at $1,047.80 an ounce, but slipped 2.3% on the week.
- Palladium for March delivery fell $45.30, or 2.6%, to $1,723.20 an ounce, for a 3.6% weekly decline.
The two are lower on the year so far with losses of 3.2% for platinum and 4.2% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Published United States Mint bullion sales showed lower results this week compared to last week. In week-over-week comparisons:
- American Gold Eagles: 12,000 ounces against 131,500 ounces
- American Gold Buffalos: 500 ounces compared to 44,000 ounces
- American Silver Eagles: 500,000 ounces against 3,449,000
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 | November | December | 2022 Sales | Last Week | This Week | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 850,000 | 90,000 | 11,000 | 101,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 | 34,000 | 1,000 | 35,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 140,000 | 50,000 | 2,000 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 575,000 | 115,000 | 0 | 115,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,500 | 0 | 410,000 | 44,000 | 500 | 44,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,407,000 | 59,000 | 15,963,500 | 3,499,000 | 500,000 | 3,949,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Not Palladium? Buy low, sell high.
I’ll continue to buy silver though it’s down. Gold and Palladium are a bit too rich for me, and you as well. We need groceries and gasoline more than precious metals.