Gold futures declined for a third straight day Friday — their fourth loss in five sessions, driving prices nearly 1% lower on the week and to a fresh two-week low.
Gold for April delivery shed $5.50, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,312.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close is the lowest since March 1.
"There is a lot of confusion in the market about what the White House’s strategy is on any large macro issues," Reuters quoted Mitsubishi Analyst Jonathan Butler. "These factors should keep gold above $1,300, but it’s more of a holding pattern and a generally supportive environment than something that is going to raise prices significantly."
Gold futures declined 0.9% this week after edging up 0.05% last week. The yellow metal is a scant 0.2% 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:
"Nineteen market professionals took part in the weekly Kitco News Wall Street survey. There were eight votes, or 42%, calling for gold prices to fall over the next week. Another seven voters, or 37%, look for gold to rise, while four, or 21%, call for a sideways market or are neutral.
Meanwhile, a smaller-than-normal 460 voters took part in an online Main Street poll. A total of 202 voters, or 44%, said bullish. Another 187 voters, or 41%, said bearish, while 71, or 15%, were neutral."
Silver for May delivery fell 15 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $16.272 an ounce. Silver futures traded 2% lower this week after climbing 0.9% last week. They are down 5.1% on the year to date.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
-
April platinum declined $6.70, or 0.7%, to $950.20 an ounce, for a 1.5% weekly loss.
- Palladium for June delivery gained $7.55, or 0.8%, to $988.55 an ounce, for a 0.2% weekly increase.
The pair remains divided on the year so far with platinum 1.3% higher and palladium 6.8% lower.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices were mostly lower on Friday and they were divided on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold declined $8.65, or 0.7%, to $1,310.10 an ounce.
- Silver fell 4.5 cents, or 0.3, to $16.475 an ounce.
- Platinum declined $9, or 0.9%, to $950 an ounce.
- Palladium was unchanged at $987 an ounce.
As for the week in LBMA metal prices, gold slipped 0.8% and silver lost 0.1% while platinum rose 0.1% and palladium gained 0.3%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
U.S. Mint gold coin sales were muted this week after they advanced by 4,500 ounces last week.
Silver coin sales rose by 270,000 ounces this week compared to 165,000 ounces previously. For a second week in a row, sales came entirely from American Silver Eagles.
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 | Last Week | This Week | February | March | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 0 | 5,000 | 2,500 | 43,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 95,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 2,500 | 1,000 | 27,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 165,000 | 270,000 | 942,500 | 435,000 | 4,612,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
