Precious metals prices declined Friday, paring gold’s increase on the week while cementing weekly losses for silver, platinum and palladium.
Gold for June delivery declined $9.80, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,735.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Prices saw “a normal trading pullback after encountering technical resistance near $1,740,” said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management. “Volumes have dropped off as well, suggesting this is just normal backing and filling with bulls taking a day off after two days [of gains] or running up on higher volumes, he told MarketWatch.
Gold futures traded 2.2% higher this week after falling 3.1% last week. On Thursday, they marked their best settlement since April 14 while on Wednesday they ended at $1,687.80 an ounce for their lowest close since April 8. Gold prices are 14% 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:
"Twelve out of 15 Wall Street voters, or 80%, said they are bullish for the week ahead. One voter, or 7%, called for lower prices, while two, or 13%, were neutral.
Meanwhile, 1,031 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll. A total of 729 voters, or 71%, looked for gold to rise in the next week. Another 192, or 19%, said lower, while 110, or 11%, were neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for May delivery shed 9.4 cents, or 0.6%, to close at $15.263 an ounce. Silver futures edged lower this week by 0.2% after they fell 4.7% last week. On Wednesday, they settled at $14.876 an ounce for their worst finish since April 3. Silver prices are 15.8% lower on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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July platinum declined $14.20, or 1.8%, to end at $773.80 an ounce, for a 1.5% weekly loss.
- Palladium for June delivery fell $15.70, or 0.8%, to close at $1,985.30 an ounce, for a drop of 6.8% on the week.
The two are divided on the year so far with platinum off 20.9% and palladium up 4%.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
London precious metals prices were mixed on Friday and for the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold declined $20.35, or 1.2%, to $1,715.90 an ounce.
- Silver edged up a cent, or 0.07%, to $15.315 an ounce.
- Platinum lost $2, or 0.3%, to $765 an ounce.
- Palladium gained $15, or 0.8%, to $2,005 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, gold rose 1.4%, silver gained 1%; platinum fell 2.2% and palladium declined 6.9%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
In United States Mint bullion sales, orders picked up for a second week in a row for gold coins and silver sales were muted for a second straight week. (In terms of 5-ounce silver bullion sales for 2020, the U.S. Mint is working on getting them automated and reported. Initial U.S. Mint-provided figures have the first two 2020-dated pieces at 45,000 produced and sold per issue. These amounts are being verified.) In week-over-week bullion coin comparisons:
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Sales of American Platinum Eagles were flat after rising by 1,500 coins last week.
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Sales of American Gold Eagles surged by 36,000 ounces after rising by 11,000 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Silver Eagles were flat for a second week in a row.
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Sales of American Buffalo gold coins jumped by 12,000 ounces after climbing by 4,000 ounces last week.
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 | January | February | March | April | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 16,000 | 11,000 | 36,000 | 38,000 | 3,500 | 133,000 | 92,500 | 267,000 |
| $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 | 6,500 | 4,000 | 12,000 | 21,000 | 1,000 | 65,500 | 16,000 | 103,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,846,000 | 650,000 | 5,482,500 | 350,000 | 10,328,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 0 | 14,500 | 9,300 | 31,200 | 1,500 | 56,500 |
