Gold, silver and platinum advanced on Friday and for the week. Palladium, meanwhile, finished down for both periods. Gold ended the day at a five-week high.
Gold for August delivery rose $21.90, or 1.3%, to settle at $1,753 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since May 15.
"There are continued upturns in COVID-19 (cases) throughout the South and Southwest of U.S. with uptick in the hospitalization rate … That has caused a little bit of concern of another shutdown, which is benefiting gold," Reuters quoted Jeffrey Sica, founder of Circle Squared Alternative Investments.
Gold futures edged up 0.9% this week after surging 3.2% last week. They are 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:
"Sixteen Wall Street professionals took part in this week’s survey. Nine, or 56%, called for prices to rise, while just two, or 13%, said lower. Five voters, or 31%, were neutral.
A total of 1,299 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll. Of these, 688 respondents, or 53%, looked for gold to rise in the next week. Another 302, or 23%, said lower, while 309, or 24%, were neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for July delivery tacked on 33.9 cents, or 1.9%, to end at $17.847 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since June 11. Silver prices jumped 2.1% this week after inching up less than a half cent last week. They are 0.4% lower on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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July platinum added $15.10, or 1.9%, to close at $827.30 an ounce, for a 1% weekly increase.
- Palladium for September delivery dipped 20 cents, or 0.01%, to end at $1,908.40 an ounce, for a 1.6% weekly loss.
The two are down on the year so far with losses of 15.4% for platinum and 0.05% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
London precious metals prices divided on Friday and mostly lower on the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold rose $15.25, or 0.9%, to $1,734.75 an ounce.
- Silver shed 9 cents, or 0.5%, to $17.525 an ounce.
- Platinum added $6, or 0.7%, to $820 an ounce.
- Palladium fell $31, or 1.6%, to $1,888 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, prices for gold rose 0.07% while they declined 0.6% for silver, 0.2% for platinum, and 2.4% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion products split this week from last with sales higher for silver coins and lower for gold coins. In weekly comparisons:
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Sales of American Gold Eagles increased by 11,500 ounces this week after rising by 26,000 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Silver Eagles advanced by 457,000 ounces this week after they ended flat last week.
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Sales of American Buffalo gold coins rose by 500 ounces this week after climbed by 3,500 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 | April | May | June | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 2,000 | 25,500 | 10,500 | 105,000 | 5,500 | 38,500 | 323,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 41,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 12,000 | 2,000 | 54,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 3,500 | 500 | 28,500 | 2,500 | 4,500 | 123,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 457,000 | 750,000 | 490,000 | 907,000 | 12,125,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 0 | 0 | 56,500 |
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.
