Bullion & Business Weekend Report – Oct. 10

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Gold, silver and platinum prices soared on the week as the US dollar showed weakness. The metals on Friday, however, fell slightly in New York after the dollar was boosted following Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments that the monetary policy would tighten eventually.

Weekend Recap: Silver, Gold and Platinum Prices; Business Week NewsIn other markets, New York oil futures closed higher and surged 2.6 percent since last Friday while US stocks finished with their best weekly gains since July, breaking a two-week losing streak. European stocks enjoyed weekly gains as well.

In London bullion weekly figures, gold rose 4.8 percent, silver soared 8.8 percent and platinum advanced 5.4 percent. Friday precious metals prices follow:

London silver closed to $17.63 an ounce, rising $1.42 from last Friday’s close. New York December silver futures ended at $17.69.

London gold was fixed at $1,051.50 an ounce, for a $48.00 on the week. New York gold for December delivery finished at $1,048.60.

London platinum ended at $1,337.00 an ounce, advancing $68.00 since last Friday’s close. New York platinum for October delivery ended at $1,331.60.

 

"Everybody is so bearish on the dollar and so bullish of gold, the market just had to turn," Matt Zeman, a LaSalle Futures Group metals trader in Chicago, was quoted on Bloomberg.

"With investors continuing to allocate funds into the gold market, the next target is likely to be an assault on the psychological $1,100 level," analysts at GoldCore were quoted on MarketWatch.

"Gold prices dipped to under the $1050 level overnight, and for the better part of Friday’s NY session, as interest rate hike-oriented comments by Fed Chairman Bernanke lifted the US dollar and dampened enthusiasm in crude oil and other commodities as well (such as copper)," wrote Jon Nadler, Sr. analyst at Kitco Metals Inc. "However, we also probably cannot take Mr. Bernanke’s Thursday words to mean that he will unleash the interest rate hike solution to sterilizing the potentially inflationary outcome of the last two years’ worth of liquidity injections today or next week."

 

Gold, considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty, tends to follow oil and move opposite to the U.S. dollar. A rising greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities, like bullion, more expensive for holders of other world currencies.

To follow are silver, gold and platinum performance charts, oil news, week-ending world stock summaries, and precious metal article summaries for the week.

London Fix Charts: Silver, Gold and Platinum
(Oct 2 – 9)



The London Fix is one of the most used bullion quotes around the world. The London AM fix for gold and platinum begins at 10:30am GMT (5:30am in New York), and the PM fix begins at 3pm GMT (10am in New York). The London Fix for silver begins each business day at 12pm GMT (7am in New York).

London Fix figures: percent and dollar changes*

(Oct 2 – 9)

 
Up
Down
Week % Change
Week $ Change
Friday Close
Silver
X
 
8.8%
$1.42
$17.63
Gold
X
 
4.8%
$48.00
$1,051,50
Platinum
X
 
5.4%
$68.00
$1,337.00

(Sept 25 – Oct 2)

 
Up
Down
Week % Change
Week $ Change
Friday Close
Silver
X
 
0.1%
$0.01
$16.21
Gold
X
 
1.2%
$12.00
$1,003.50
Platinum
 
X
-0.9%
-$12.00
$1,269.00

(Sept 18 – 25)

 
Up
Down
Week % Change
Week $ Change
Friday Close
Silver
 
X
-5.3%
-$0.91
$16.20
Gold
 
X
-2.0%
-$20.50
$991.50
Platinum
 
X
-4.2%
-$56.00
$1,281.00

(Sept 11 – 18)

 
Up
Down
Week % Change
Week $ Change
Friday Close
Silver
X
 
1.3%
$0.22
$17.11
Gold
X
 
0.4%
$3.75
$1,012.00
Platinum
X
 
3.5%
$45.00
$1,337.00

(Sept 4 – 11)

 
Up
Down
Week % Change
Week $ Change
Friday Close
Silver
X
 
5.9%
$0.94
$16.89
Gold
X
 
1.9%
$19.25
$1008.25
Platinum
X
 
3.4%
$42.00
$1,292.00
*Week change numbers are for Friday PM-Friday PM

Weekly World Business News: Oil, Gasoline, and Stocks Prices

Crude oil prices rose Friday "as investors continued to take an upbeat view of the economy and amid forecasts of rising demand," wrote Polya Lesova and Nick Godt of MarketWatch.

New York oil for November delivery rose 8 cents, or 0.1 percent, to close at $71.77 a barrel. Oil gained $1.82, or 2.6 percent, on the week.

 

"We’re looking at a fairly robust rebound in demand next year," David Fyfe, head of the IEA’s oil industry and markets division, was quoted on Bloomberg. "Things are looking more positive in the economy, which will tend to feed into oil demand."

 

Prices at the pump rose a half penny Saturday as compared to Friday. The national average for unleaded gasoline was $2.467 a gallon, according to a AAA fuel report. The price is 1.5 cents higher than last week, 10 cents less than a month back, and down 86 cents from a year ago.

U.S. stocks rallied Friday "at the end of a strong week, with the Dow and S&P 500 hitting their highest levels in over a year as investors extended a seven-month rally," wrote Alexandra Twin of CNNMoney.com

 

"Investors have moved from a flight to safety to a flight to risk," Rick Lake, portfolio manager of the Aston/Lake Partners LASSO Alternatives Fund, was quoted on MarketWatch. "The investing crowd feels compelled to participate in up moves and buy anything with a higher yield than cash, setting up a climate where investors will react to any positive news and leave a prudent consideration of economic realities to another time."

 

For the week, the Dow climbed 4.0 percent, the S&P advanced 4.5 percent, and the Nasdaq rose 4.5 percent.

Friday figures for the three major US indexes follow:

  • The Dow gained 78.07 points, closing to 9,864.94.

  • The S&P rose 6.01 points to close at 1,071.49.

  • The NASDAQ advanced 15.35 points to finish at 2,139.28.

And in other world markets, indexes recorded weekly gains but ended mixed on Friday as the following figures show:

  • The German DAX fell 4.66 points to close at 5,711.88.

  • The Paris CAC 40 declined 7.20 points, to close at 3,799.61.

  • And the London FTSE 100 rose 7.23 points to finish at 5,161.87.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s rate outlook and upbeat sentiment ahead of an earnings flood pushed blue chips to their highest close of the year. Conway Gittens of Reuters reports on this, world stocks and other business news in the following video.

Bullion and Business Articles

In related silver and gold news, interesting or quick-read articles from the week include:

  • Gold futures slump as Bernanke talk lifts dollar – MarketWatch
    Gold futures finished lower on Friday, but finished the week sharply higher, as the dollar gained back some ground after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said loose monetary policy will end eventually …
  • Jawboning (and More) by Proxy – Jon Nadler, Kitco
    Gold prices dipped to under the $1050 level overnight, and for the better part of Friday’s NY session, as interest rate hike-oriented comments by Fed Chairman Bernanke lifted the US dollar and dampened enthusiasm in crude oil and other commodities as well (such as copper). On Wednesday, we warned that ‘shoe-pounding’ style dollar-oriented statements might come from Mr. Bernanke following the resounding lack of success of the pro-dollar jawboning attributed Mr. Geithner within the last week …
  • Ultra High Relief Gold Coin Sales History – CoinNews
    2009 $20 Ultra High Relief Gold Double Eagle sales exploded with a sizzling 28,183 purchased by the end of its Jan. 22 launch day. Action continued to be strong despite the initial $1,189.00 price, which is now considered a dreamy bargain for buyers in today’s market. By the following Tuesday, Jan. 27, the number jumped to 41,664. How have they done since? A week-by-week analysis paints the picture …
  • Van Buren Liberty First Spouse Coins Hit Milestones – First Spouse Coins
    Sales fell down for all but one of the ten available US Mint First Spouse Gold Coins, according to the latest Mint sales data. While last week’s report showed half of the coins with triple digit increases, this week only showed one – the Sarah Polk Proof coin. It jumped by 149 …
  • US Mint Silver Coin Sales: 2009 Silver Proof Sets Jump – Silver Coins Today
    Sales of US Mint Silver Coins improved, rising from the prior week’s data that showed collector demand retreated slightly. The biggest gainer was the 18-coin 2009 Silver Proof Set, which popped up another 14,352 to register year-to-date sales of 521,060. The previous weekly increase was about 1/3 lower at 9,432 (although enough to push the sets over 500K). Extra focus on the 18-coin Silver Proof set may …
  • Gold & Silver Eagles Cancelled, Buffalo & Platinum Eagles Scheduled – CoinNews
    The United States Mint announced today that it will offer for sale 2009 one-ounce American Buffalo Proof Gold Coins and one-ounce American Eagle Platinum Proof Coins. The release dates for these products are tentatively October 29 and December 3, 2009, respectively. In addition, the agency will release the one-ounce 2009 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coin on October 15 and the fractional 2009 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins-in the one-half ounce, one-quarter ounce, and one-tenth ounce weights-on December 3 …
  • 2009 Silver Eagle Coins Cancelled – Silver Coins Today
    n a stunning announcement today, the United States Mint said it will not offer 2009 Proof Silver Eagles nor 2009-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle coins. The news is a bitter pill to swallow for some collectors who will now forever see a hole in their Silver Eagle collection which dates back to 1986. The US Mint decision, however disappointing, is not entirely surprising given the enormous demand of the bullion versions …

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