Precious metals prices gained Thursday, the final trading day of the holiday-shortened week. Major U.S. and European markets are closed tomorrow, April 10, in observance of Good Friday. All the metals scored weekly increases. As for the day, silver jumped 5.6% to end at a more than one-month high and gold soared 4.1% to notch a more than seven-year high.
Gold for June delivery on Thursday jumped $68.50 to settle at $1,752.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest for gold since it closed at $1,753 an ounce on Oct. 17, 2012.
"The market is flooded with cash from central banks around the world which is inflating gold prices at this highly uncertain time," MarketWatch quoted Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, in a daily research report.
Gold futures surged 6.5% this week after sliding 0.5% last week. The yellow metal is 15.1% higher on the year to date. In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:
"All fifteen market professionals who took part in the Wall Street survey look for gold to rise next week…"
"Meanwhile, 1,172 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll. A total of 821 voters, or 70%, looked for gold to rise in the next week. Another 222, or 19%, said lower, while 129, or 11%, were neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for May delivery advanced 84.8 cents to settle at $16.053 an ounce. The close was the highest since March 6 when silver ended at $17.263 an ounce. Silver futures traded 10.8% higher this week after falling 0.3% last week. They are down 10.4% on the year.
In other precious metals prices on Thursday and for the week:
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July platinum added $15, or 2%, to end at $748.60 an ounce, for a 4.3% weekly gain.
- Palladium for June delivery gained $14.80, or 0.7%, to finish at $2,110 an ounce, for a 0.2% increase on the week.
The two are split on the year so far with platinum off 23.4% and palladium up 10.5%.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
London precious metals prices ended divided Thursday and gained on the week. In comparing their levels from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold rose $32.85, or 2%, to $1,680.65 an ounce.
- Silver added 11 cents, or 0.7%, to $15.175 an ounce.
- Platinum fell $6, or 0.8%, to $735 an ounce.
- Palladium declined $14, or 0.6%, to $2,166 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, gains reached 4.2% for gold, 5.5% for silver, 2.9% for platinum, and 1.2% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales slowed from a week ago. In week-over-week comparisons:
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Sales of American Platinum Eagles were flat after rising by 25,000 coins last week.
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Combined sales of American Gold Eagles rose by 12,000 ounces after rising by 43,000 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Silver Eagles moved up by 350,000 coins after increasing by 650,000 coins last week.
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Sales of American Buffalo gold coins were flat for a second week in a row.
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) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Last Week | This Week | January | February | March | April | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 43,000 | 12,000 | 38,000 | 3,500 | 133,000 | 45,500 | 220,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23,000 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 0 | 33,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 20,000 | 0 | 40,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60,000 | 20,000 | 95,000 | 0 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21,000 | 1,000 | 47,500 | 0 | 69,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 650,000 | 350,000 | 3,846,000 | 650,000 | 5,482,500 | 350,000 | 10,328,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 25,000 | 0 | 14,500 | 9,300 | 31,200 | 0 | 55,000 |
