Precious metals futures advanced Friday, recording a second straight week of gains. Gold ended just short of a more than 3-week high while silver marked another close at an about 2-1/2-week high.
Gold for April delivery edged up $1.30, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,248.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The way we’re looking at gold is — day to day a lot can happen that causes emotional movement in the market but looking forward, we’re bullish and I’m looking for $1300 and I think you have to look at the fact that a lot of things can happen that ultimately will prove supportive for gold," Reuters quoted Bill O’Neill, co-founder of LOGIC Advisors.
Gold futures traded 1.5% higher this week after gaining 2.4% last week. On Wednesday, they ended at $1,249.70 an ounce for their best settlement since March 1. The yellow metal is 8.4% higher through the first twelve weeks of this year.
In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street survey:
"Twenty-three market professionals took part in a weekly Wall Street survey. Fifteen voters, or 65%, see gold prices rising by next Friday. Three, or 13%, said lower, while five voters, or 22%, look for a sideways market.
Meanwhile, 1,286 Kitco readers submitted votes in an online Main Street poll. Nine hundred voters, or 70%, are bullish. Another 237, or 18%, say that gold will fall, while 149, or 12%, are neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for May delivery gained 15.5 cents, or 0.9%, to close at $17.748 an ounce. The finish is the strongest since March 6 when the precious metal ended at $17.773 an ounce.
Silver futures tacked on 1.9% this week after surging 2.9% last week. They are 11% higher on the year to date.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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April platinum rose $4.10, or 0.4%, to $967.90 an ounce, for a 0.5% weekly gain.
- Palladium for June delivery added $13.20, or 1.7%, to $813.35 an ounce, padding its weekly increase to 4.8%.
Their gains on the year so far moved up to 6.9% for platinum and 19% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices climbed on Friday and for the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold was unchanged at $1,247.50 an ounce.
- Silver added 8 cents, or 0.5%, to $17.63 an ounce.
- Platinum rose $1, or 0.1%, to $964 an ounce.
- Palladium added $13, or 1.6%, to $816 an ounce.
Their weekly advances totaled 1.5% for gold, 1.3% for silver, 0.4% for platinum and 4.9% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion products logged strong weekly increases with gold sales the highest since the week ended Feb. 10 and silver sales the best since the week ending Jan. 20. In the latest week-over-week comparisons:
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Gold coins advanced by 13,000 ounces after rising by 8,000 ounces last week. Splits include 9,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles compared to 5,500 ounces previously and 4,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalo compared to 2,500 ounces previously.
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Silver coins jumped by 795,000 ounces compared to 220,000 ounces previously. And like in the last two weeks, American Silver Eagles accounted for all sales.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Feb Sales | Mar Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 8,500 | 21,000 | 14,500 | 122,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 5,000 | 1,000 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 42,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 20,000 | 5,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 | 190,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 4,000 | 15,000 | 7,000 | 54,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 220,000 | 795,000 | 1,215,000 | 1,295,000 | 7,637,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19,500 | 0 | 19,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | |||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | |||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | |||||
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
