Gold prices retreated Friday, yet still notched a weekly gain and snapped a six-week losing streak in the process.
Gold for February delivery declined $17.40, or 1.0%, to $1,660.60 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Last Friday gold was off $102.50, or 5.9%, since it had last advanced for the week ended Nov. 23. This week the yellow metal rebounded $11.70, or 0.7%.
"The overall trend is higher into next week," MarketWatch quoted Jeffrey Wright, managing director at Global Hunter Securities. Still, "volatility continues to be high in gold and silver with sharp intraday swings. I would anticipate this level of movement to continue near term."
Weekly gold surveys exhibited a smaller proportion of bulls, suggesting a higher degree of uncertainty in the market place. In Bloomberg’s survey of analysts and traders, 10 participants expect higher gold prices in the coming days compared to 7 bearish and 9 neutral. Kitco’s gold survey shows similar results.
"There is no majority of opinion on gold price direction for next week, with participants divided over the idea that fiscal policy uncertainty will support prices and others expecting prices to stay in the current range or move lower," reports Kitco News.
"In the Kitco News Gold Survey, out of 33 participants, 23 responded this week. Of those 23 participants, nine see prices up, while seven see prices down, and seven see prices moving sideways or are neutral."
With a week and a half of trading, the precious metal in 2013 has fallen $15.20, or 0.9%, after posting a 12th straight annual gain in 2012.
Silver, Platinum and Palladium Futures
In other New York precious metals futures on Friday and for the week:
-
March silver dropped 51.0 cents, or 1.7%, to close at $30.408 an ounce. Silver also snapped a streak of six weekly declines, gaining 46.2 cents or 1.5%.
-
Platinum for April delivery edged down $3.10, or 0.2%, to $1,631.20 an ounce. It performed the best among precious metals this week, rising $72.70 or 4.7%.
-
March palladium lost 75.0 cents, or 0.1%, to close at $701.45 an ounce. For the week, palladium added $12.95 or 1.9%.
Palladium is off 0.3% in 2013, but silver is up 0.6% and platinum has surged 5.8%.
Precious Metals in London
London bullion mixed it up Friday but all precious metals rose on the week. When comparing Thursday – Friday PM fixings:
- Gold slid $17.50, or 1.0%, to $1,657.50 an ounce,
- Silver gained 18.0 cents, or 0.6%, to $30.67 an ounce,
- Platinum climbed $5.00, or 0.3%, to $1,626.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium fell $7.50, or 1.1%, to $693.50 an ounce
For the week, gains in London precious metals were 0.6% for gold, 4.6% for silver, 4.4% for platinum and 0.7% for palladium.
Sales of US Mint Bullion Coins
U.S. Mint bullion coin sales are already at multi-month highs with still more than two weeks in January left. The month is historically strong as newly dated coins debut. Last week the bureau began accepting orders for 2013-dated American Eagle gold coins and sales opened this week for 2013-dated American Eagle silver coins. In a breakdown of weekly sales:
-
Gold bullion coins reached 54,000 ounces with splits of 32,000 ounces in 22-karat American Eagle gold coins and 22,000 ounces in 24-karat American Buffalo gold coins. Gold Eagle sales in January at 97,500 ounces are higher than sales levels from nine different months in 2012. Gold Buffalo sales at 36,500 for the month are the strongest since March 2011.
-
Silver coins totaled 4,827,500 ounces this week with splits of 4,782,000 in American Eagle silver coins and 9,100 in America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins. Silver Eagle sales in January already rank as the third highest monthly total since the series start in 1986.
Sales figures for other U.S. Mint bullion products follow.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | 2013 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 12,000 | 59,500 | 27,500 | 80,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 9,000 | 3,000 | 12,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 12,000 | 4,000 | 16,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 50,000 | 20,000 | 70,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 14,500 | 22,000 | 36,500 |
| American Eagle Silver Coin* | 150,000 | N/A | 4,782,000 | 4,782,000 |
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | All-Time Sales | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21,900 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,400 |
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 200 | 0 | 5,700 | 91,600 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 200 | 0 | 1,700 | 41,200 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 200 | 0 | 1,700 | 31,400 |
| TOTAL | 600 | 0 | 9,100 | 271,500 |
Coin sales figures shown above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the bullion coin’s weight.
