Bullion & Business Weekend Report – Dec. 19

Gold gained on Friday but recorded another weekly decline as a stronger US dollar, which hit a three-month high this week, pulled prices down. Bullion generally moves opposite of the greenback. Silver and platinum managed modest gains in New York, but retreated in London.

The dollar’s strength was also cited as a catalyst in curbing investor appeal toward riskier assets, as in stocks. Major US and European indexes were mixed on the last full trading week in 2009.

In London bullion weekly prices, gold declined 1.7 percent, silver fell 1.1 percent and platinum lost 0.8 percent.

In New York precious metals this week, gold fell 0.8 percent, silver rose 1.3 percent and platinum climbed 0.5 percent.

Friday and weekly dollar figures follow:

London gold was fixed at $1,104.50 an ounce, falling $19.50 this week. New York gold for February delivery finished at $1,111.50 for a weekly loss of $8.40.

London silver closed to $17.310 an ounce, ending down 20 cents from last Friday’s close. New York silver futures for March delivery ended at $17.320, rising 23 cents on the week.

London platinum ended at $1,417.00 an ounce, retreating $12.00 since last Friday’s close. New York platinum for January delivery closed to $1,429.30, advancing $6.60 on the week.

Notable bullion quotes follow:

"Nothing goes up or down in a straight line," Doug Keller, managing director at Binary Research, a commodities research firm, said Friday on MarketWatch. "A lot today is technical and has to do with options expiration."

"The fall yesterday below $1,100 an ounce is an attractive level for some bargain hunters," Peter Fertig, owner of Quantitative Commodity Research Ltd. in Hainburg, Germany, said on Bloomberg. "Gold is recovering as the dollar has given back some of its gains made over the last few days."

"The rising bullishness that became obvious by mid-week remained in place," wrote Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, Inc. "However, at the end of the day, it all remains a dollar-defined game, and the greenback is flexing some serious muscles as of late."

Gold, considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty, tends to follow oil and move opposite to the U.S. dollar. A rising greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities, like bullion, more expensive for holders of other world currencies.

To follow are silver, gold and platinum performance charts, oil news, week-ending stock summaries, and precious metal article summaries.

London Fix Charts: Silver, Gold and Platinum
(Dec 11 – 18)

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 Precious Metals Prices

Weekly World Business News: Oil, Gasoline, and Stocks Prices

Crude oil prices rose on Friday "but were well off highs, as a stronger dollar capped an early rally sparked by reports of an Iranian incursion into an Iraqi oil field," reported Nick Godt and Polya Lesova of MarketWatch.com.

"I don’t see the oil market as being especially tight but I think anticipation of an international economic recovery is a key factor still supporting it," David Moore, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. in Sydney, said on Bloomberg. "What we’re seeing is some buying partly reflecting the earlier dip in the oil price."

New York crude oil for January delivery advances 71 cents, or 1.0 percent, to $73.36 a barrel. For the week, oil surged $3.49, or 5.0 percent.

Prices at the pump rose one-tenth of a penny from Friday to Saturday. The national average for regular unleaded gasoline was $2.590 a gallon, according to a AAA fuel report. The price is 2.5 cents lower than last week, 4.8 cents down from a month back, and 91.7 cents more than a year ago.

U.S. stocks moved higher on Friday "in choppy trade as quarterly results from Oracle and Research In Motion lifted the Nasdaq more than 1 percent, but the U.S. dollar’s climb curbed gains in both the Dow and the S&P 500," reported
Chuck Mikolajczak of Reuters.

For the week, the Dow retreated 1.3 percent, the S&P lost 0.3 percent, and the Nasdaq rose 1.0 percent.

Friday figures for the three major US indexes follow:

• The Dow added 20.63 points to close at 10,328.89.

• The S&P rose 6.39 points, closing at 1,102.47.

• The NASDAQ advanced 31.64 points to finish at 2,211.69.

And in other world markets:

• The German DAX lost 13.23 points to close at 5,831.21.

• The Paris CAC 40 declined 36.38 points, to close at 3,794.44.

• And the London FTSE 100 ended down 20.80 points to finish at 5,196.81.

The head of General Motors said the automaker began to repay bailout loans taken from the American and Canadian governments. Conway Gittens of Reuters reports on this, world stocks, oil, the US dollar, and other business news in the following video.

Bullion and Business Articles

In related silver and gold news, interesting or quick-read articles from the week include:

• Gold futures finished higher, though rising dollar caps gains – MarketWatch
  Gold futures gained Friday, helped by technical factors after gold dropped sharply in the prior session, though gains were limited as the dollar advanced on news of a simmering oil conflict between Iraq and Iran. Gold for February delivery finished with a gain of $4.10, or 0.4%, at $1,111.50 an ounce. Gold for January delivery rose $4 to $1,110.80 an ounce. For the week, the most active contract …

• Gold Climbs in London as Weaker Dollar, Decline Lures Buyers – Bloomberg
  Gold gained in London, paring a third weekly decline, as a halt in the dollar’s rally prompted investors to buy bullion after the metal’s biggest drop in almost two weeks. Bullion yesterday fell below $1,100 for the first time since Nov. 10 and dropped 3.4 percent, the most since Dec. 4, as the U.S. Dollar Index rose to a three-month high. The index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback’s value, was …

• Bomb Voyage In 2010? – Jon Nadler, Kitco
  The tally at the end of the afternoon on Thursday had gold prices showing a $40.40 loss with the metal quoted at $1093.80 per ounce, a price level not seen since before Thanksgiving. Previous support at $1111 was taken out, and the sellers are now apparently targeting the $1092 area as the next one to challenge. Below that mark, there is little to talk about until the $1070 level is in view. All of this …

• Demand Sluggish, Gold Coins and Sets Retreat – CoinNews
  Demand for almost every numismatic product fell according to the latest US Mint weekly sales report. In fact, just analyzing the raw numbers show a drop of over 70,000 total items from the prior week. Nearly every gold coin and all US mint proof and uncirculated sets retreated. This is not completely surprising, however, as the previous week saw well above average demand for most coins. Also, demand for gold …

• Collector Silver Declines, Eagles Return Strong – Silver Coins Today
  2009 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins have returned with strength following their near two-week hiatus as a result of a depleted inventory. The United States Mint resumed selling the eagles to authorized dealers on Monday, Dec. 7. Although they are being rationed, 737,500 more were still sold in the last seven days and during a time when silver prices moved mostly lower. 27,783,000 is the new 2009 tally. The latest …

• US Annual Inflation Up 1.8% – CoinNews
  US inflation over the past year returned to positive territory for the first time since February and Americans paid more for energy in November, bringing the cost of living up from the prior month, according to a government report released on Wednesday. Consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in November — as most analysts expected — after a 0.3 percent increase in October, the Labor Department said …

• US Annual Wholesale Inflation Hits 2.4% – CoinNews
  Producer prices in the U.S. increased much more than expected in November, as did the annual wholesale inflation reading, according to a government report on Tuesday. The Labor Department’s Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, soared 1.8% in November — the biggest gain in three months. Expectations generally ranged from between 0.8% and 1.0%. October’s PPI advanced 0.3%. (Prices declined 0.6% in September after a 1.7% increase in August.) …

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