Gold Inches Up on Week for First Weekly Advance in Four Weeks

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Silver and Gold Bars, Antique Balance Scale
While gold edged up 0.1% this week, silver, platinum and palladium logged weekly losses of 0.8%; 1.1%; and 0.4%

Precious metals futures ended divided Friday. Gold was among the losers on the day but it stood alone with a weekly advance — a very modest one.

Gold for August delivery shed $3, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,255.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"Traders are extremely cautious when it comes to gold. The intraday price-action has a bullish set-up and shows that the price has potential to test the level of $1,280 in the coming days if the dollar weakness continues," Reuters quoted ThinkMarkets chief market analyst Naeem Aslam.

Gold futures edged up 0.1% this week following three weekly declines that had trimmed prices by 3.7%. On Thursday, the yellow metal settled at its best price since June 26. Gold prices are now 4.1% lower on the year to date.

In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:

"Sixteen market professionals took part in the survey. There were 11 votes, or 69%, calling for gold prices to rise. There were three votes, or 19%, calling for gold to fall, while two voters, or 12%, look for a sideways market.

Meanwhile, 808 voters responded in an online Main Street survey. A total of 449 respondents, or 56%, predicted that gold prices would be higher in a week. Another 231 voters, or 29%, said gold will fall, while 128, or 16%, see a sideways market."

Elsewhere, silver for September delivery lost 2.8 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $16.069 an ounce. Silver futures traded 0.8% lower this week. Prices have declined a combined 4% through four straight weeks of losses. The precious metal is 6.2% lower on the year so far.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

  • October platinum rose $7.20, or 0.9%, to $848.60 an ounce, but slipped 1.1% on the week.

  • Palladium for September delivery added $4.90, or 0.5%, to $947.60 an ounce, but posted a 0.4% weekly decline.

The two are also lower on the year to date with losses of 8.2% for platinum and 9.8% for palladium.

London Precious Metals Prices

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

  • Gold slipped 15 cents, or less than 0.1%, to 1,255.35 an ounce.
  • Silver rose 4.5 cents, or 0.3%, to $15.995 an ounce.
  • Platinum lost $7.50, or 0.9%, to $838 an ounce.
  • Palladium was unchanged at $947 an ounce.

In LBMA results for the week, gold climbed 0.4% while other London metal prices registered declines reaching 0.2% for silver, 1.5% for platinum, and 0.6% for palladium.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018

United States Mint bullion sales were divided this week with gold coins moving quicker and silver coins selling slower. In headline weekly comparisons:

  • Gold bullion coins rose by 12,500 ounces this week after they advanced by 11,500 ounces last week. Splits included 7,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles against 11,000 ounces previously and 5,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos compared to 500 ounces previously.

  • Silver bullion coins climbed by 75,000 this week after rising by 100,500 last week. Sales this week came entirely from American Silver Eagles. Last week, splits included 95,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles and 5,500 ounces in Voyageurs 5 Ounce Silver Bullion Coins.

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 May June This Week / July 2018 Sales
$100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin 0 0 10,000 0 0 30,000
$50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin 0 10,500 18,500 21,500 6,500 94,000
$25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 0 1,000 1,000 18,000
$10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 18,000 4,000 0 48,000
$5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 0 125,000
$50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin 0 500 16,500 6,500 5,500 59,000
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin 0 95,000 380,000 435,000 75,000 6,897,500
Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin 0 0 0 0 0 30,000
Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin 0 0 0 0 0 30,000
Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin 0 1,100 0 30,000 0 30,000

 

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