Platinum enjoyed a robust week, silver showed a modest gain and gold dropped slightly on the London Fix.

Platinum’s rally was helped along Friday by the launch of two Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) from investment bank UBS. Although the ETNs do not purchase physical platinum to back their shares, they offer a means for funds to access it. That drew public interest.

London Platinum closed to $2,079 an ounce, which was up $201 compared to its previous Friday close. Silver ended Friday at $16.97 an ounce, or up $.78 over the same period. And finally, gold closed at $876 an ounce and was down by $22 from Friday to Friday.

Outside the London Fix, which closes mid-mornings, gold experienced a small spurt late Friday and a 3% weekly gain for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange. High crude oil, and weakness in the U.S. dollar were factors. But its future is in deeper question by some analysts.

“The large drop, to $869, was seen despite a dollar that continued on the weaker side today, and was partially attributed to crude oil coming off about one dollar from another record high of $126.20 per barrel," said senior analyst Jon Nadler at Kitco Bullion Dealers.

"The counterintuitive move and the metal’s inability to mount a serious rally to at least $900 on a day when oil set new highs and platinum advanced $75 per ounce does raise some valid questions as we go into next week," Nadler continued.

The silver, gold and platinum weekly charts and comparisons from last week are below. The weekly business recap video from Reuters and three related precious metal articles links are included as well.

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Precious metals were dragged down across the board for two consecutive weeks with gold experiencing the worst of it with its third weekly drop. The largest driving force for the loses continued to be the US dollar’s continuing strength.

Although it was briefly tested with the Fed’s quarter-point interest rate drop Wednesday, the dollar pulled back and precious metals followed in the opposite direction.

Silver, gold and platinum slumped on the London Fix for Monday through Friday with a loss of $0.75, $39 and $91 respectively.

Silver closed down this week by 4.4% to $16.19 an ounce compared to last Friday’s close of $16.68. Platinum dropped by 4.6% to $1,878 an ounce compared to its previous Friday close of $1,951.

Gold surged up by nearly 2% after the Fed’s Wednesday rate change. However, it dropped back down Thursday and just slightly recovered Friday. It lost $39 this week to close at $854 an ounce. Last Friday London gold closed at $892 an ounce.

“The better than expected US jobs data and the unexpected 1.4% jump in March factory orders swiftly knocked gold down toward the $840’s early in the day (Friday), but the metal regained a bit of composure as news of a renewed liquidity injection effort by the ECB, The Fed, and the Swiss National Bank lifted speculative spirits in the bull camp," said senior analyst Jon Nadler at Kitco Bullion Dealers.

The silver, gold and platinum weekly charts and comparisons from last week are below. The weekly business recap video from Reuters and three related precious metal articles links are included as well.

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Precious metals swung lower this week following strength in the U.S. dollar. Silver and platinum slumped on the London Fix for Monday through Friday with a loss of $1.18 and $79 respectively.

Silver closed down this week by 6.6% to $16.68 an ounce compared to last Friday’s close of $18.18. Platinum dropped to $1,951 an ounce compared to its previous Friday close of $2,026.

Gold experienced a slight recovery on the final day of trading, but suffered in previous day declines. It lost $24 this week to close at $892 an ounce. Last Friday gold stood at $909 an ounce.

“We expect gold to remain vulnerable to further weakness, with a failure to hold above $872 potentially triggering a drop back to $850,” said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, in a research note.

In upcoming business news, on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will make its decision on interest rates. Expectations are for a quarter-percent drop in its key rate and signals to pause future cuts. First-quarter gross domestic production numbers will also be released that will reflect on whether the U.S. is in an "official" recession.

The silver, gold and platinum weekly charts and comparisons from last week are below. A video article entitled There’s Gold In Them Mouths!, the weekly business recap video from Reuters and two related articles links are included as well.

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Silver and platinum moved upward on the London Fix for Monday through Friday with a gain of $0.73 and $77 respectively. Silver closed Friday at $18.18 an ounce and platinum at $2,026 an ounce.

Gold, on the other hand, lost $9 to close Friday at $928 an ounce.

Gold was “heavily weighed down by an initial retreat in crude oil and the dollar’s rapid ascent,” said Jon Nadler, analyst with Kitco Bullion Dealers.

Comparing Friday to Friday numbers shows a bullion market with several swings, but less total value movement — silver higher by just $0.23, gold down by $19 and platinum up by just $7.

The silver, gold and platinum weekly charts and comparisons from last week are below. A video article entitled Cashing in by selling gold, a Reuters business week wrap up video and two related articles links are included as well.

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Silver, gold and platinum remained largely unmoved for the week. Monday through Friday London Fix gold curved upward by $13 while silver dropped a penny and platinum fell by $4.

“There is a general tone of lower willingness to take risk at this point. I think you are probably seeing people being hesitant or not allowed to take as much risk as they normally would,” remarked Zachary Oxman, senior trader with Wisdom Financial in Newport Beach, California.

Some hesitancy was due to the meeting of Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers and banking leaders from around the world. Their language could help set the direction of precius metals on Monday. Official G7 comments started hitting the airwarys Friday evening.

The silver, gold and platinum weekly charts and comparisons from last week are below. A Reuters business week wrap up video and three related articles links are included as well.

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There still seems to be an undercurrent of "positive expectations" that precious metals will eventually head to new peaks. But not this week. Silver, gold and platinum all dipped.

The largest shake-up happened on Tuesday with gold falling to a two-month low and below $900 an ounce. Silver and Platinum followed the yellow metal. In the end, bullion rebounded ever so slightly after Tuesday but not enough to turn their gains to an overall positive week.

The London Fix Monday through Friday numbers show silver down by $0.54, gold by $32 and platinum by $43.

The silver, gold and platinum weekly charts and comparisons from last week are below. A Reuters business week wrap up video and three related articles links are included as well.

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Precious metals climbed for the week, recovering somewhat from their large free-fall last week. Gold was weakest in its climb, rising just 0.4% on the London Fix. Silver and platinum increased 4.5% and 3.8% respectively.

The metals were agitated by a firming US dollar and weaker oil prices. In response to gold, James Moore from TheBullionDesk.com stated earlier Friday:

"The metal has failed to hold ground above 950 usd an ounce and has drifted lower this morning due to movements in oil and the dollar. Gold’s failure to hold above 950 usd an ounce suggests that in the short-term the market is still a little top heavy and will remain vulnerable to bouts of profit taking ahead of month/quarter end."

The silver, gold and platinum weekly charts and comparisons from last week are below. A Reuters business week wrap up video and three related articles links are included as well.

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Gold hit a new record high on Monday, March 17, and then quickly dropped to experience its largest weekly loss since August 1990.

Gold’s near free-fall was was joined by silver and platinum. The downward plunge began after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates Tuesday by three-quarters of a percentage point, resulting in a surge upward for the dollar.

London Fix Monday through Thursday (shortened week due to holiday):

• Gold was down 9.6%
• Platinum by 8.9%
• and silver by double digits, 16.2%.

The silver, gold and platinum weekly charts and comparisons from last week are below. A Reuters gold video titled, A golden roller coaster, a business week wrap up video and three related articles links are included as well.

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Gold hit many analysts expectations Friday when New York gold swung to a new record high of $1,009 an ounce. The falling value of the U.S. dollar, the continuing housing slump and the hedge against inflation all helped to spur gold forward.

Silver stayed above the record $20 an ounce it first hit last week and Platinum made modest gains.

An overview of London Fix figures

London Fix Monday through Friday gold was up $30 to close at $1,004 Friday - a $31 increase compared to last Friday’s close.

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The strength in silver and gold eased slightly for the week while platinum experienced a dip.

London Fix Monday through Friday gold was down $6 to close at $973 Friday - one dollar higher than last Friday’s close.

Silver passed a milestone in moving above $20 an ounce. However, London numbers had it up only $0.06 for the week and closing at $20.22. It was $.60 higher compared to last Friday, however.

Platinum took the largest hit by falling 3.7%, closing at $2,082 and losing $80.

In discussing gold prices, Stephen Briggs, economist at SG Corporate and Investment Banking, was quoted as saying:

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