Gold and silver futures declined for a second straight session Friday, securing weekly losses, after both hit multiple-year settlement highs just two days earlier.
Gold for December delivery on Friday shed $10, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,515.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The yellow metal was pressured, opined analysts, after positive remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a question-and-answer session in Zurich.
"The sell-off in gold was mainly due to the slightly optimistic tone Powell delivered throughout the session. He was pointing out that the U.S. economy was still performing well. Markets were expecting it to be slightly dovish," Reuters quoted Edward Moya, senior market analyst with OANDA.
Gold futures lost 0.9% this week after sliding 0.5% last week. On Wednesday, they closed at $1,560.40 an ounce for their highest settlement since April 11, 2013. The precious metal is 18.3% higher on the year to date.
In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:
"This week, 15 market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey. A total of 9 voters or 60% called for gold to be higher. Bearish and neutral votes were caught in a tie with; three votes or 20% called for either lower to neutral prices next week.
Meanwhile, 1,164 respondents took part in an online Main Street poll. A total of 679 voters, or 58%, called for gold to rise. Another 287, or 25%, predicted gold would fall. The remaining 198 voters, or 17%, saw a sideways market."
Elsewhere, silver for December delivery sank 68.8 cents, or 3.7%, to close at $18.119 an ounce. Silver futures traded 1.2% lower this week following four straight weekly increases that had raised prices by a combined 12.7%. On Wednesday, silver closed at $19.547 an ounce for its best settlement since Sept. 26, 2016. Prices are 16.6% higher on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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October platinum fell $5.20, or 0.5%, to $958.50 an ounce, but gained 2.9% on the week.
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Palladium for December delivery declined $16.40, or 1.1%, to $1,544.70 an ounce, but logged a 0.4% weekly increase.
Both are higher on the year so far with advances of 19.7% for platinum and 29% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices fixed lower Friday and mostly lower on the week. In comparing their latest day-over-day PM prices:
- Gold declined $5.40, or 0.4%, to $1,523.70 an ounce.
- Silver dropped $1.075, or 5.6%, to $18.145 an ounce.
- Platinum fell $29, or 3%, to $947 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, prices rose 0.9% for platinum and declined 0.3% for gold and 1.3% for silver.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion performances were mixed this week from last with gold sales higher and silver sales lower. In week-over-week comparisons:
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Gold bullion coins climbed by 2,500 ounces after rising by 1,000 ounces previously. Splits included 2,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles against 500 ounces previously and 500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins to match the prior week.
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American Silver Eagles rose by 11,000 ounces this week after rising by 138,000 ounces last week.
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Five-ounce America the Beautiful silver coins were muted for a second week in a row.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint 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 | Last Week | This Week / Sept | July | August | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 1,500 | 2,000 | 6,500 | 88,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 1,000 | 23,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 30,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 15,000 | 5,000 | 170,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 1,500 | 50,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 138,000 | 11,000 | 1,240,000 | 1,007,000 | 12,280,000 |
| War in the Pacific 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57,000 | 12,500 | 69,500 |
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 80,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | ||||
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 40,000 | ||||
