Gold, silver and platinum futures declined on Friday and for the week. Silver suffered the most, logging a four-month low. Palladium, meanwhile, scored another record settlement — its third in a row and fourth of the week.
Gold for February delivery on Friday lost $18, or 1.2%, to end at $1,465.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Nov. 27.
Gold saw pressure following the release of a strong U.S. jobs report which showed that the economy added 266,000 jobs in November.
"The better-than-expected jobs report has dented demand for
safe-haven products such as gold," Reuters quoted David Meger, director of
metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
Gold futures shed 0.5% this week after rising 0.6% last week. On Tuesday, they had registered an almost one-month high at $1,484.40 an ounce. The yellow metal is ahead 14.3% for the year to date.
In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:
"Sixteen market analysts participated in this week’s Wall Street survey. Four analysts, or 27%, said they were bullish on gold next week. Seven analysts, or 44%, said they see lower prices next week. Five analyst, or 31%, saw prices trading sideways.
Meanwhile, 792 respondents took part in an online Main Street poll. A total of 487 voters, or 61%, called for gold to rise. Another 183, or 23%, predicted gold would fall. The remaining 122 voters, or 15%, saw a sideways market."
Elsewhere, silver for March delivery plunged 46.3 cents, or 2.7%, to close at $16.596 an ounce. The settlement was the weakest since Aug. 6.
Silver futures traded 3% lower this week following three straight weekly wins that had lifted their prices by a combined 1.7%. Like for gold, they also registered a nearly one-month high on Tuesday at $17.248 an ounce. The precious metal is 6.8% higher on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
-
January platinum dipped $1.70, or 0.2%, to finish at $898.90 an ounce, for a 0.2% weekly loss.
- Palladium for March delivery inched up 40 cents, or 0.02%, to a record settlement of $1,846.10 an ounce. Palladium advanced 2% on the week.
Both metals are higher on the year so far with increases of 12.3% for platinum and 54.2% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London gold and silver divided on Friday and fell for the week. In comparing their latest day-over-day PM prices:
- Gold declined $16.30, or 1.1%, to $1,459.65 an ounce.
- Silver rose 7 cents, or 0.4%, to $16.94 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, losses totaled 0.03% for gold and 0.1% for silver.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
Last week, United States Mint bullion sales were limited to 32,500 ounces in America the Beautiful Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness 5 ounce silver coins. This week, those same coins moved up by 25,000 ounces. Also up on the week by 500 ounces were American Gold Eagle 1 ounce coins.
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 | November | This Week / December | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 500 | 106,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin* | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 38,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 195,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 60,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 463,000 | 0 | 14,863,500 |
| Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 6,500 | 20,000 | 5,000 | 25,000 |
| San Antonio Missions 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55,200 |
| War in the Pacific 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72,500 |
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | |||
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 40,000 | |||
