Precious metals finished sharply higher Friday, padding their weekly gains. Gold’s weekly advance was its first in three weeks.
Gold for December delivery tacked on $42.30, or 2.2%, to settle at $1,974.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold futures traded 1.4% higher this week after losses of 0.1% last week and 3.9% for the week ended Aug. 14. They are 29.7% higher on the year to date. Earlier this month, on Aug. 6, gold registered a record settlement of $2,069.40 an ounce.
In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:
"This week, 15 Wall Street professionals took part in this week’s poll. Among the participants, 12, or 80%, called for gold prices to rise; three analysts, or 20%, were neutral on the market and there were no bearish votes cast…
A total of 2,375 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll. Of these, 1356 respondents, or 57%, looked for gold to rise in the next week. Another 559, or 24%, said lower, while 460 voters, or 19%, were neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for September delivery soared 59.2 cents, or 2.2%, to close at $27.79 an ounce. Silver futures traded up 4% this week after rising 2.5% last week. They are 55.1% higher on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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October platinum settled up $11.90, or 1.3%, to $940 an ounce, for a 1.5% weekly gain.
- Palladium for December delivery advanced $41, or 1.9%, to end at $2,231.50 an ounce, for a 2.4% weekly increase.
The two are divided on the year so far with platinum 3.9% lower and palladium 16.9% higher
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
London precious metals prices ended mostly higher on Friday and for the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:
- Gold gained $33.50, or 1.7%, to $1,957.35 an ounce.
- Silver added 10.5 cents, or 0.4%, to $27.35 an ounce.
- Platinum was unchanged at $930 an ounce.
- Palladium moved ahead $8, or 0.4%, to $2,176 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results, prices for palladium declined 0.6% while they rose 1.7% for gold, 1.9% for silver, and 3.3% for platinum.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged this week, according to available figures from the bureau’s website. Last week, the Mint reported:
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Sales of American Gold Eagles rising 29,500 ounces.
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Sales of American Silver Eagles jumping 1 million ounces.
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Sales of American Buffalo gold climbing 4,000 ounces.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday / This Week | Last Week | June | July | August | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 16,500 | 42,500 | 107,500 | 86,000 | 521,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 51,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 12,000 | 2,000 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 76,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 30,000 | 0 | 35,000 | 30,000 | 240,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 7,500 | 30,000 | 22,500 | 178,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,000,000 | 1,398,000 | 1,084,500 | 2,593,000 | 16,294,000 |
| America Samoa 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Weir Farm 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Salt River Bay 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Marsh Billings 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 | 0 | 45,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56,500 |
The U.S. Mint dropped it’s issue price on the Barbara Bush gold coins on this Wednesday by $25 each (Proof & Unc.) just six days after the first day of issue.
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