Gold futures registered a third straight loss Friday but still advanced for a second week in a row. Other precious metals also posted weekly gains despite end-of-week declines.
Gold for December delivery on Friday fell $7.10, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,334.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold has seen "gains on disappointing economic data, but Fed speakers have caused the market to rethink their view on rate increases," MarketWatch quoted Robert Haworth, senior investment strategist with U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "Gold now appears to be reflecting the stronger dollar and rising odds of a Fed rate increase in 2016."
Gold futures climbed this week by 0.6% after rising last week by less than 0.1%. The yellow metal is now $274.30, or 25.9%, higher than its final settlement in 2015 at $1,060.20 an ounce. In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street survey:
"This week, 15 analysts and traders took part in the survey; about 46% of the experts expect prices to trek lower next week, while the remaining participants — split evenly at 27% — see higher or neutral prices.
Meanwhile, sentiment on Main Street was a little more optimistic for the yellow metal. This week, 664 Main Street participants voted on the online survey, of which 438 voters, or 66%, are bullish. At the same time, 136 participants, 20%, expect lower prices while 87, or 13%, are neutral."
Also lower for a third straight day, silver for December delivery dropped 31 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $19.368 an ounce. Silver futures ended virtually flat this week, rising less than a half penny, after soaring 3.8% a week earlier. Silver remains the best-performing precious metal for the year to date, up 40.3%.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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October platinum settled down $17.20, or 1.6%, to $1,067.50 an ounce, but logged a 0.5% weekly gain.
- Palladium for December delivery lost $8.40, or 1.2%, to $679.45 an ounce, but tacked on 0.9% this week.
Both metals are higher on the year so far with gains of 19.5% for platinum and 20.9% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices also ended lower on Friday but higher on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold declined $12.55, or 0.9%, to $1,330.85 an ounce.
- Silver fell 52 cents, or 2.6%, to $19.41 an ounce.
- Platinum declined $15, or 1.4%, to $1,073 an ounce.
- Palladium fell $16, or 2.3%, to $678 an ounce.
Their weekly increases tallied to 0.5% for gold, 3.5% for silver, 2% for platinum and 1.2% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
U.S. Mint bullion coins posted lower sales than a week earlier. In week-over-week comparisons:
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Gold coins advanced 22,000 ounces after climbing 23,000 ounces last week. This week’s splits include 18,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles compared to 20,500 ounces previously and 3,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo compared to 2,500 ounces previously.
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Silver coin sales advanced 177,500 ounces after rising by 552,500 ounces previously. The weekly splits include 170,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles compared to 410,000 ounces previously and 7,500 ounces in America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins compared to 142,500 ounces previously.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Aug Sales | Sept Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 17,500 | 14,500 | 50,000 | 19,500 | 505,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 53,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 106,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 5,000 | 25,000 | 20,000 | 60,000 | 35,000 | 650,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,500 | 3,500 | 9,000 | 4,500 | 136,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 410,000 | 170,000 | 1,280,000 | 310,000 | 29,210,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 1,900 | 0 | 36,100 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 27,500 | 1,500 | 27,500 | 1,500 | 29,000 |
