Precious metals futures declined Friday with all but gold logging declines for the holiday-shortened trading week. Markets in the U.S. closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and ended early on Black Friday.
Gold for December delivery on Friday shed $4.80, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,223.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The gold story looks very intriguing in the face of looming trade war risk [and] a possible u-turn on Fed policy, which would result in a significantly weaker U.S. dollar. All of which suggests gold prices will continue to find a bid," MarketWatch quoted Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading with Oanda.
Gold futures edged up 20 cents this week, or less than 0.1%, after rising 1.2% last week. On Wednesday, they ended at their best price since Nov. 7. Gold prices are 6.6% lower on the year so far.
In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:
"Sixteen market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey. Eight respondents, or 50%, predicted higher prices by next Friday. There were three votes, or 19%, for lower, while five respondents, or 31%, called for sideways.
Meanwhile, 524 people responded to an online Main Street poll. A total of 310 respondents, or 59%, called for gold to rise. Another 122, or 23%, predicted gold would fall. The remaining 92 voters, or 18%, see a sideways market."
Elsewhere, silver for December delivery dropped 25.9 cents, or 1.8%, to settle at $14.243 an ounce. Silver futures shed 1% this week after jumping 1.7% last week. On Wednesday, they also finished at their highest price since Nov. 7. The precious metal is 16.9% lower on the year to date.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
-
January platinum declined $5.60, or 0.7%, to $845 an ounce, for a 0.2% weekly loss.
- Palladium for December delivery fell $18.70, or 1.7%, to $1,114.50 an ounce, for a 3.5% weekly decline. Last Friday, the metal ended at a record of $1,154.60 an ounce.
The pair remained divided on the year so far with platinum 9.9% lower and palladium 5% higher.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices were lower on Friday and mostly lower on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold declined $3.40, or 0.3%, to 1,223.65 an ounce.
- Silver fell 26.5 cents, or 1.8%, to $14.255 an ounce.
- Platinum shed $7, or 0.8%, to $838 an ounce.
- Palladium declined $8, or 0.7%, to $1,141 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, prices for gold rose 0.1% while others declined by 0.2% for silver, 0.5% for platinum and 3.1% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion sales were flat this week according to figures from the agency. Last week, the U.S. Mint registered sales of:
-
3,000 ounces in gold coins week with splits of 2,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 1,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
- 865,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
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) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday / This Week | Last Week | October | November | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 21,000 | 5,000 | 177,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 225,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 6,500 | 3,000 | 117,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 865,000 | 1,430,000 | 1,270,000 | 14,835,000 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Cumberland Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,500 |
