Precious metals this week advanced against the expectations of many analysts and traders. Weekly gains logged in at 0.9% for gold, 3.1% for silver, 3.5% for platinum and 1.9% for palladium.
Gold for February delivery climbed $1.70, or 0.1%, to settle Friday at $1,214 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Trading volume was exceptionally light all week, as was expected around Christmas and going forward into next week with investors away for New Years.
"The market is probably going to stay in wide ranges for the next few sessions and there will still be some support from Asian buyers ahead of the Chinese New Year at the end of January," Reuters quoted VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov. "But volumes are very thin now and we need to wait for when the Western investors come back (from holidays) to see what they will be doing."
Most participants in Kitco News’ weekly gold survey expect prices to move higher in the coming days.
"In the Kitco News Gold Survey, out of 34 participants, 17 responded this week. This was less than normal, with many still away from their desks for an extended Christmas holiday. Ten see prices up, while five see prices down and two see prices sideways or unchanged," reports Kitco.
In rounding out the precious metals complex on Friday:
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Silver for March delivery tacked on 13.3 cents, or 0.7%, to close at $20.05 an ounce.
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April platinum climbed $15.10, or 1.1%, to finish at $1,378.90 an ounce.
- Palladium for March delivery rose $11.20, or 1.6%, to end at $711.95 an ounce.
The following grid shows the net percentage changes in New York precious metals futures through Dec. 27, the completed quarters in 2013 and the year-to-date.
| New York Precious Metals Gains / Losses (%) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | 1st Quarter | 2nd Quarter | 3rd Quarter | YTD 2013 | |
| Silver | 0.1 | -6.3 | -23.3 | 11.5 | -33.7 |
| Gold | -2.9 | -4.8 | -31.3 | 8.4 | -27.6 |
| Platinum | 0.7 | 2.1 | -14.9 | 5.4 | -10.6 |
| Palladium | -1.1 | 9.2 | -14.0 | 10.1 | 1.2 |
London Fix Precious Metals
UK markets were closed for most of the week in celebration of Christmas. When comparing the London fix prices from Tuesday AM to Friday PM:
- Gold rose $18, or 1.5%, to $1,214.50 an ounce,
- Silver advanced 52 cents, or 2.7%, to $19.92 an ounce,
- Platinum surged $47, or 3.5%, to $1,374 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $15, or 2.2%, to $711 an ounce
Bullion gains for the week totaled 1.6% for gold, 3.1% for silver, 3.5% for platinum and 1.6% for palladium. The following grid shows the net percentage changes in London precious metals fixings through Dec. 27, the completed quarters in 2013 and the year-to-date.
| London Precious Metals Gains / Losses (%) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | 1st Quarter | 2nd Quarter | 3rd Quarter | YTD 2013 | |
| Silver | -0.1 | -4.0 | -34.1 | 15.0 | -33.5 |
| Gold | -3.1 | -4.4 | -25.4 | 11.3 | -27.0 |
| Platinum | -0.1 | 3.5 | -16.4 | 7.1 | -9.8 |
| Palladium | -1.8 | 10.2 | -16.5 | 12.9 | 1.7 |
US Mint Bullion Sales in December
Bullion American Gold Eagles scored their highest weekly total since Dec. 6, with that week the best since July 5. The one-ounce size was the only gainer, but it jumped 17,000 compared to the prior week’s pick up of 6,500. Month-to-date sales of 56,000 ounces across all sizes is the best since June’s 57,000 ounces.
Weekly orders for American Gold Buffalo coins were muted after rising 4,000 last week.
Also silent for a second straight week, a trend that will continue into January, were sales of silver bullion coins. All the 2013-dated issues sold out in the second week of December. 2014 American Silver Eagles do not launch until Jan. 13 and the first 2014 America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin is not expected out until Jan. 27.
Listed below are United States Mint bullion sales for the week, for the month through Dec. 27, and the year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | December Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 6,500 | 17,000 | 53,500 | 743,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 122,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 535,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,500 | 0 | 7,000 | 239,000 |
| White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | Sold Out | 4,300 | 35,000 | ||
| Perry’s Victory 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 30,000 | ||||
| Great Basin 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 30,000 | ||||
| Fort McHenry 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 30,000 | ||||
| Mount Rushmore 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 35,000 | ||||
| American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 1,200,000 | 42,675,000 | |||
In related U.S. Mint news and on the numismatic front, the bureau this week reduced gold coin prices.
