Precious metals slid lower for the week with platinum feeling the worst of it after poor automotive results were announced. The metal is used in catalytic converters, which accounts for some 50 percent of its demand. Silver lost 12 cents for the week and gold dropped $17 mostly due to lower oil prices and strength in the US dollar.
London silver closed the week to $17.59 an ounce — a gain of 4 cents from last Friday.
London platinum fell to $1,675 an ounce — a drop of $77 for the week and a loss of $51 compared to its previous Friday close.
London gold closed to $913 an ounce, losing $8.50 from last Friday.
"The metal [gold] turned higher in late trading, following gains in crude oil precipitated by Israeli statements regarding the "unacceptable" stage that Iranian nuclear development is reaching," said senior analyst Jon Nadler at Kitco Bullion Dealers.
"Platinum-group metals fell sharply, following yesterday’s US GDP figures for Q4 2007, this morning’s $15.5 billion Q2 2008 loss reported by GM, and by a further 13.3 percent fall in Ford auto sales."
Silver, gold and platinum performance charts and tables follow as well as a Reuters weekly business recap video and three related precious metal articles.
CoinNews London Fix Charts: Silver, Gold and Platinum
(July 28-Aug 1)
The London Fix is one of the most used bullion quotes around the world. The London AM fix for gold and platinum begins at 10:30am GMT (5:30am in New York), and the PM fix begins at 3pm GMT (10am in New York). The London Fix for silver begins each business day at 12pm GMT (7am in New York).
London Fix figures: percent and dollar changes
(July 28-Aug 1)
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-0.7%
|
-$0.12
|
$17.59
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-1.8%
|
-$17
|
$913
|
| Platinum |
|
X
|
-4.4%
|
-$77
|
$1675
|
Week change numbers are for Monday-Friday.
July 21-25
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-4.4%
|
-$0.80
|
$17.55
|
| Gold |
|
X
|
-4.7%
|
-$46
|
$921
|
| Platinum |
|
X
|
-7.8%
|
-$146
|
$1726
|
Week change numbers are for Monday-Friday
July 14-18
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
|
X
|
-0.7%
|
-$0.14
|
$18.55
|
| Gold |
X
|
|
0.2%
|
$2
|
$960
|
| Platinum |
|
X
|
-8.5%
|
-$172
|
$1849
|
Week change numbers are for Monday-Friday.
London Fix: July 7-11
|
Up
|
Down
|
Week % Change
|
Week $ Change
|
Friday Close
|
|
| Silver |
X
|
|
3.0%
|
$0.53
|
$18.38
|
| Gold |
X
|
|
4.5%
|
$41.75
|
$963
|
| Platinum |
X
|
|
2.2%
|
$44
|
$2030
|
Week change numbers are for Monday–Friday.
Bullion and business related articles for the week
In related news, interesting or quick-read articles:
- August 1 – Gold posts losses as trader eye economic health – MarketWatch
Gold futures closed lower Friday to end the week with a loss of just over 2%, with strength in the U.S. dollar and a somewhat upbeat picture on the U.S. economy prompting gold investment demand to fall, sending prices below $920 an ounce.
- August 1 – Platinum slides on bleak outlook for carmakers – Reuters
Platinum slid nearly 7 percent and palladium by more than 6 percent on Friday as a spate of poor results from the automotive sector and firmer oil prices triggered a sell-off.
- August 1 – Rising Fall? – Jon Nadler
Bullion values turned lower once again following yesterday’s GDP-related and mostly technical bounce. Friday’s trading session brought prices down to a low of near…
Business week overview and wrap-up by Reuters News
The U.S. economy extended job losses to a seventh month in July and the jobless rate hit a four-year high in signs the labor market is not improving. Crude prices rallied $1.02 to settle at $125.10 a barrel.
The three major US indexes:
-
The Dow lost 51.70 points to close at 11,326.32, and losing 0.4% for the week.
-
The S&P 500 dropped by 7.07 points, closing to 1,260.31.
- The Nasdaq fell 14.59 points Friday to finish at 2,310.96, and remained unchanged for the week.
In other world markets:
-
The German DAX lost 83.10 points to close at 6,396.46.
-
The Paris CAC 40 lost 78.02 points to close at 4,314.34.
- And the London FTSE 100 dropped 57.2 points to close at 5,354.70.
Conway Gittens reports from New York.
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