Bullion & Business May 2010 Recap

Euro zone debt turmoil worries were a market fixture during all of May, which tended to lift gold but pressure industrial precious metals, oil and stocks.

The final week of the month saw some stabilization. Commodities rose as a group as did world stocks, with the exception of the Dow which retreated 0.56 percent.

For the month of May, however, only gold shined as safe-haven buying lifted the yellow-metal 2.9 percent in New York and 2.4 percent in London. Silver fell modestly, but other metals were pulverized — platinum and palladium by double digit percentages. In other markets, crude tumbled 14.1 percent and major world indexes fell between 3.09 percent and 8.29 percent. The Dow ended its worst May in 70 years.

In New York precious metals weekly prices, August gold gained $38.90 to close at $1,215.00 an ounce.

"Continued currency concerns and jittery markets will probably bolster a case for gold," Kevin Davitt, a senior market strategist at International Futures Group in Chicago, was quoted on Bloomberg. "Overall, it’s been the most difficult month for most markets in over a year. Given gold’s relative strength, there’s a case for lightening the load."

New York silver for July delivery climbed 77.1 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $18.422 an ounce. July platinum rose $48.20, or 3.2 percent, to end at $1,549.40 an ounce. September palladium jumped $23.50, or 5.3 percent, to close at $463.45 an ounce.

The metals were mixed in May. Gold rose 2.9 percent, but silver fell 1.2 percent, platinum tumbled 11.2 percent and palladium plunged 16.6 percent.

Analysts do not expect a big fall in bullion. "People are still holding it, they haven’t gotten out," Rory McVeigh, trader at Commerzbank was quoted on Reuters. "They’re going to hold it to wait and see where the price action with the euro goes."

In London bullion weekly prices, gold was fixed to $1,207.50 an ounce, rising $27.75.

"Indian gold purchases ticked higher overnight as local prices retreated from their all-time highs reached on Wednesday. The country’s gold trade now faces an upcoming slow period for June and July as the monsoon season’s historical patterns would indicate," noted Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, Inc.

"For older locals, gold is essentially woven into the fabric of life. However, a new generation of Indian investors is now scrutinizing gold’s average 16% annual gains over the past decade up against the nearly identical gains (15% p.a.) shown by the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex (and that, before counting dividends)."

Silver gained 81 cents, or 4.6 percent to $18.530 an ounce. Platinum settled at $1,555.00 an ounce, advancing $63.00, or 4.2 percent. Palladium was $471.00 an ounce, jumping $52.00, or 12.4 percent.

Prices were mixed in May. Gold gained 2.4 percent, silver retreated slightly by 0.5 percent, platinum fell 10.5 percent and palladium dove 14.7 percent.

To follow are silver, gold, platinum and palladium performance charts, oil news, week-ending stocks, and precious metal article summaries.

London Fix Charts: Silver, Gold, Platinum and Palladium

(May 21 – 28)

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 Precious Metals Prices

World Business News: Oil, Gasoline, and Stocks Prices

Crude oil fell "after fluctuating earlier, after a downgrade for Spain’s debt brought back concerns about a potential European debt crisis weighing on oil demand," wrote Claudia Assis and Nick Godt of MarketWatch.

"Oil futures are down a lot and it’s all because of the news of Fitch downgrading Spain’s credit rating. Ahead of the long weekend, crude futures have latched on to the stock market which is falling on euro-zone worries," Mark Waggoner, president at Excel Futures in Bend, Oregon, said on Reuters.

On Friday, New York crude oil for July delivery ended down 58 cents, or 0.8 percent, to close at $73.97 a barrel. Oil prices jumped 5.6 percent for the week but tumbled $12.18 in the month of May — the worst decline since December 2008, and breaking a three-month winning streak.

Prices at the pump fell eight-tenths of a cent between Friday and Saturday. The national average for regular unleaded gasoline is $2.741 a gallon, according to a AAA fuel report. The price is 7.1 cents lower than last week, 13.6 cents less than a month back, but still 27.4 cents higher than a year ago.

U.S. stocks tumbled Friday as "a downgrade of Spain’s debt rating rekindled investors’ broader fears about European credit sparking a sharp decline in stocks in the last session of May, which saw the market’s worst monthly drop since February 2009," wrote Peter McKay of MarketWatch.

"People were expecting a nice slow day and then the Spain news turned things around," Joseph Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading, was quoted on CNNMoney.com. "It may have been anticipated, but It’s still a big deal," he said. "It tells us we are not out of the woods yet."

Friday closing figures for the three major US indexes follow:

• The Dow lost 122.36 points, or 1.19 percent, to close at 10,136.03.

• The S&P ended down 13.65 points, or 1.24 percent, to finish at 1,089.41.

• The NASDAQ retreated 20.64 points, or 0.91 percent, to 2,257.04.

The indexes were mixed for the week with the Dow falling 0.56 percent, the S&P rising slightly at 0.16 percent and the Nasdaq gaining 1.26 percent.

Stocks plummeted in the month of May with the Dow dropping 7.93 percent — its worst May since 1940, the S&P declining 8.20 percent, and the Nasdaq falling 8.29 percent

And in other world markets on Friday:

• The German DAX advanced 9.04 points to close at 5,946.18.

• The Paris CAC 40 declined 10.25 points to end at 3,515.06.

• The London FTSE 100 fell 6.74 points to 5,188.43.

The indexes were higher for the week, with the DAX gaining 2.01 percent, the CAC 40 rising 2.46 percent and the FTSE 100 advancing 2.48 percent.

For the month of May, however, the indexes tumbled as the DAX lost 3.09 percent, the CAC 40 plummeted 7.91 percent and the FTSE 100 plunged 6.57 percent.

Bullion and Business Articles

In related bullion, business and United States Mint news, interesting or quick-read articles from the week include:

• Bullion Gold Hits 1999 Highs, Silver Eagles Breach 15M
  The latest United States Mint sales figures are contrasting. Numismatic coins moved slower as is often the case toward the middle of the year when extended daylight hours offer collecting distractions.

  But coins struck for investors amped higher, and are shooting for records. Cases in point: Gold Eagles are selling as fast as they were during the Y2K scare; Silver Eagle sales just smashed 15 million in less than five months.

  More specifically, during the last week alone…

   

• 2010 American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin Launch Date Officially Announced
  The United States Mint on Thursday officially announced when the 2010 $50 American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin would launch.

  While a price point for the coin is not yet available, the U.S. Mint said in a press statement that the 24-karat gold piece would be released on June 3, 2010, at noon Eastern Time.

  The date is not a surprise. Earlier this month the Mint revealed the day by adding it to a notification page on its online store. But the press announcement sets its release in virtual stone. Also, it indicated that there would be no household order limits in place. Buyers can order as many as they want…