Heading into an extended weekend with U.S. markets closed Monday in observance of Presidents Day, precious metals declined on Friday and for the week.
On Friday, gold for April delivery dipped $1.60, or 0.09%, to settle at $1,850.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The turnaround in U.S. economic data and the persistence of strong inflation has destroyed … hopes for a ‘Fed pivot’, and that’s directly reflected in the falling gold price," Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault, told MarketWatch.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that producer prices increased 0.7% in January from a revised 0.2% decline in December, while jumping 6% year-on-year. On Tuesday, the government agency reported that consumer prices rose 0.5% in January from 0.1% in December, while year-on-year inflation increased 6.4%.
Gold prices fell 1.3% on the week, trimming their year-to-date gain to 1.3%. Moreover, the yellow metal extended its weekly losses to three in a row following six straight weekly gains. On Wednesday at $1,845.30 an ounce, gold logged its lowest finish since Jan. 5.
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 the Kitco News Gold Survey. Among the participants, 13 analysts, or 76%, were bearish on gold in the near term. At the same time, only one analyst, or 6%, was bullish for next week and three analysts, or 18%, saw prices trading sideways.
Meanwhile, 831 votes were cast in online polls. Of these, 374 respondents, or 45%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 327, or 39%, said it would be lower, while 130 voters, or 16%, were neutral in the near term."
Elsewhere, silver for March delivery edged up a half cent, or 0.02%, to settle at $21.715 an ounce. Silver prices closed 1.6% lower for the week. The precious metal has dropped a combined or $2.66, or 10.9%, through five consecutive weekly losses. On Wednesday at $21.572 an ounce, silver marked a settlement low reaching back to Nov. 29. It is 9.7% lower on the year.
In PGM prices on Friday and for the week:
-
April platinum shed $9.60, or 1%, to end at $921.40 an ounce, for a weekly decline of 3.2%.
- Palladium for March delivery lost $33.20, or 2.2%, to end at $1,492.50 an ounce, falling 2.1% on the week.
The two are down on the year so far with losses of 14.9% for platinum and 17% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Published United States Mint bullion sales have not changed from a week ago when they saw their first increases of the month. 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) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January Sales | Last Week | February | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 118,000 | 9,000 | 9,000 | 127,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 37,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 38,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 62,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 64,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 115,000 | 65,000 | 65,000 | 180,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 59,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 64,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 3,949,000 | 450,000 | 450,000 | 4,399,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
