Gold and Silver Prices Edge Lower on Week, Palladium Soars

Precious metals ended mixed Friday with losses in gold and silver cementing their weekly declines — albeit modest.

Gold for December delivery edged down 80 cents, or less than 0.1%, to end at $1,291.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier Friday, gold scored its highest intraday price this year at $1,306.90 an ounce.

"The selloff is unusual as there was no data or market news to account for the [roughly] $15 drop" from the day’s highs, MarketWatch quoted Mark O’Byrne, research director at GoldCore. "Risk aversion has eased with stocks eking out small gains [at the time of gold’s settlement] and some traders may have decided to take profits at the $1,300 level."

Gold futures traded 0.2% lower this week after advancing 2.3% last week. The yellow metal is 12.2% higher on the year to date. In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street survey:

"Eighteen market professionals took part in a Kitco News Wall Street survey. Fourteen voters, or 78%, see gold prices rising by the end of next week. Two, or 11%, voted lower, and the same number said sideways.

The Kitco online Main Street poll resulted in 986 votes, with 645 participants, or 65%, calling for gold to climb over the next week. Another 280 voters, or 28%, said that gold will fall, while 61, or 6%, were neutral."

Elsewhere, silver for September delivery shed 5.3 cents, or 0.3%, to finish at $17 an ounce.

Silver futures declined 0.4% this week after rallying 5% last week. On Monday, they closed at $17.122 an ounce for their best settlement since June 14. Silver prices are 6.3% higher so far this year.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

• October platinum rose 70 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $982.40 an ounce, but logged a 0.7% weekly decline.

• Palladium for September delivery added 95 cents, or 0.1%, to $927.10 an ounce — their strongest close since early 2001. The precious metal rallied 3.6% on the week.

Both metals are higher on the year to date with gains of 8.5% for platinum and 35.7% for palladium.

London Precious Metals Prices

London precious metals prices ended higher on Friday and for the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:

• Gold gained $10.65 or 0.8%, to 1,295.80 an ounce.
• Silver jumped 13 cents, or 0.8%, to $17.15 an ounce.
• Platinum rose $10, or 1%, to $985 an ounce.
• Palladium added $5, or 0.5%, to $932 an ounce.

For the week, advances totaled 0.8% for gold, 0.4% for silver, 0.1% for platinum, and 3.8% for palladium.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017

United States Mint bullion sales this week ended flat for gold coins but improved a bit for silver coins. In week-over-week comparisons:

• Gold coin sales were muted after rising by 7,000 ounces previously with splits of 5,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 2,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.

• Silver coins advanced by 125,000 ounces compared to 110,000 ounces previously. American Silver Eagles accounted for all silver sales for a seventh straight week.

Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.