Gold futures bounced Friday from their lowest price of the year, snapping a three-session losing streak, but they still ended lower on the week — their second straight weekly decline.
Gold for April delivery gained $18.20, or 1.4%, to settle at $1,323.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Trade in gold today is stepping back and looking at tariffs as a potentially more dovish scenario: weaker economic growth, lower real yields and a weaker dollar are impacting trade," Reuters quoted Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist for US Bank Wealth Management.
Gold futures dipped 0.5% this week after dropping 1.9% last week. On Thursday, they ended at their lowest price since Dec. 28. The precious metal is 1.1% 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:
"Twenty-one market professionals took part in the weekly Kitco News Wall Street survey. There were 14 votes, or 67%, calling for gold prices to rise over the next week. Another three voters, or 14%, looked for the metal to fall, while four, or 19%, look for a sideways market or are neutral.
Meanwhile, 541 voters took part in an online Main Street poll. A total of 272 voters, or 50%, said bullish. Another 189, or 35%, said lower, while 80, or 15%, were neutral."
Silver for May delivery gained 19 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $16.466 an ounce. Silver futures edged 0.1% lower this week after falling 1.4% last week. They are 4% lower on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
-
April platinum added $7.30, or 0.8%, to $965.10 an ounce, but posted a 3.4% weekly loss.
- Palladium for June delivery rose $13.45, or 1.4%, to $986.65 an ounce, but tumbled 4.8% on the week.
The two metals remained divided on the year with platinum 2.9% higher and palladium down 7%.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices ended mixed on Friday and lower than a week ago. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold rose $14.55, or 1.1%, to $1,322.30 an ounce.
- Silver added 13 cents, or 0.8%, to $16.445 an ounce.
- Platinum dipped $1, or 0.1%, to $968 an ounce.
- Palladium declined $18, or 1.8%, to $993 an ounce.
As for the week in LBMA metal prices, their losses totaled 0.4% for gold, 1% for silver, 2.2% for platinum and 4.6% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
U.S. Mint bullion sales were mixed this week with silver coins moving quicker and gold coins moving slower. In week-over-week comparisons:
-
Gold coins rose by only 500 ounces after rising by 2,500 ounces a week earlier. Last week, all sales resulted from American Gold Eagles. This week, all sales resulted from American Gold Buffalos.
-
American Silver Eagles advanced by 237,500 coins this week after they climbed by 70,000 coins last week.
- On Monday, the U.S. Mint released its first 2018-dated 5-ounce bullion silver coin. The piece depicts Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan and it registered first-week sales of 20,000 coins or 100,000 ounces.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday / March | Last Week | This Week | February | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 5,000 | 41,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 5,000 | 85,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 500 | 2,500 | 26,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 70,000 | 237,500 | 942,500 | 4,177,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | N/A | 20,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
Hmmm. Lemme think about this. O.K. Hmmm. Well, let’s see. Umm. Nope. I got nothing. 🙂
Palladium*Platinum! Dog race at! Wonder*Land! Palladium* 1/4 dogleg lead. Remember when! *not that long ago*, *platinum was 1.1/4 doglegs ahead of *Gold! If i* could *i bet a few*.oz,s *platinum now!, just *me tho.
Joe Brown,
There seems to be a sort of inevitability to the ongoing supremacy of gold, a sort of wide-ranging, inherent cachet, that poor old platinum is apparently lacking. To wit, “The Golden Rule”; “As Good as Gold”; “The Gold Standard”; “A Golden Sunset”; “The Gold Medal”; “A Heart of Gold”; “The Gold Rush”; “The Golden Years”; “The Golden Ticket”; “The City of Gold”; “The Golden Gate Bridge”; “A Golden Retriever”.
Old Collector – All i* got to say! *God made *Platinum*+*King! No one is *greater than, our maker*+*. I*will say 1 more thing! ?Who says it can*t happen again, right here! On *+*god*s***good*earth*, the price to buy, is right to me*, *peace*dude*is man.
If Trump and Kim jong un keep at it, the only coins left to collect or stack will be made of OBLIVIUM.
*SMILE! You know, there’s >more< than just those 2 funny-ass-.
>PEG_HEADS<!.
Instead of brandishing nuclear missiles they should rather be displaying their uniquely styled hairdos peacock-wise at each other much like fuzzy little patriotic banners caught in the wind.
*SHOW_DOWN! For-Roosters! To wave high tail feather, & kock-a-douddly-do-do,to-each+others=on*mars! When, the few! WHO MAKE THE GRADE*! & Rest get cent to >outer>LIMBof it all>evil-space-ship, & empires of earth*+*! *SMILE*!, game*over*all is *+*good*peace*.
HAIRDO HAIKU
Black strands firm, tall and
straight; blond orange, holding on
for dear life. Oy vey.
Old Collector –
Thanks for another great haiku to ponder. I have always wondered, even long before he became POTUS, what that thing living on top of his head is & exactly how it defies the standard color schemes & scientific quantum physics as we know them here on planet Earth! (Proof of alien life here on Mother Earth?). Trump is a living haiku – he only has 3 main lines he quotes.
-NumisdudeTX
Seth Riesling, It’s my pleasure, and I appreciate the kindness of your opinion. In turn I must say I thoroughly enjoyed your delightfully esoteric but nevertheless consistently on-point musings regarding the mysterious thicket (thinet?) residing upon said POTUSian scalp. If one were to allow oneself a small side step into standard conspiracy theory, it might not be outside the realm of civility and/or reality to suggest that this exceedingly odd exemplar of cranial plumage exists as such with the precisely clever, diabolic intent of drawing all attention in any direction but toward the tirelessly mind-numbing 1984ish-only-spoken-here bleating noise relentlessly emanating… Read more »
MAGA HAIKU
Flipping time on its
head as a new ice age brings
back Neanderthals.