Gold Prices Dip 0.06% on Week

Most precious metals climbed on Friday. Gold was among the day’s gainers but the yellow metal still posted a slight loss on the week.

Gold for December delivery edged up 60 cents, or 0.03%, to settle at $1,905.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"Over the past three weeks, the metal has found comfort within a $50 range thanks to a variety of themes ranging from a softer dollar, rising coronavirus cases across the globe, pre-election jitters and uncertainty over the U.S. stimulus package," Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM, told MarketWatch.

"The precious metal is likely to remain on standby until a fresh catalyst is brought into the picture," he said.

Gold prices inched 0.06% lower this week following a 1% loss last week. They ended Wednesday at $1,929.50 an ounce for their best settlement since Sept. 18. Gold is 25.1% 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:

"This week 17 analysts participated in the survey. A total of 7 voters each, or 41%, called for gold prices to rise or trade sideways next week; meanwhile three analysts, or 18%, called for lower prices.

Participation in Kitco News’ weekly online surveys remains relatively muted at a level not seen since the start of the year. A total of 1,305 votes were cast this past week. Among those, 800 voters, or 61%, said they were bullish on gold next week. Another 255, or 20%, said they were bearish, while 220 voters, or 20%, 19 were neutral."

Elsewhere, silver for December delivery declined 3.4 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $24.675. Despite two straight days of losses, silver futures traded 1.1% higher this week. They fell 2.8% last week. On Wednesday, they ended at $25.241 an ounce for their highest close since Oct. 12. Silver is ahead on the year by 37.7%.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

• January platinum advanced $22.70, or 2.6%, to end at $906.70 an ounce, for a 4.3% weekly increase.

• Palladium for December delivery settled up $2.70, or 0.1%, to $2,398.60 an ounce, marking a gain on the week of 2.4%.

The two are divided on the year so far with platinum 7.3% lower and palladium 25.6% 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 rose $2.70, or 0.1%, to $1,903.65 an ounce.
• Silver declined 15.5 cents, or 0.6%, to $24.76 an ounce.
• Platinum surged $47, or 5.4%, to $917 an ounce.
• Palladium added $32, or 1.4%, to $2,394 an ounce.

In LBMA weekly results, prices dipped 0.07% for gold while they increased 1.6% for silver, 5.4% for platinum and 2.7% for palladium.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020

United States Mint bullion sales slowed this week from last week for both gold and silver coins. In week-over-week comparisons:

• Sales of American Gold Eagles advanced 8,500 ounces after increasing by 11,000 ounces last week.

• Sales of American Silver Eagles climbed 761,000 ounces after rising by 873,000 ounces last week.

• Sales of American Buffalo gold increased 1,000 ounces after they rose by 5,000 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. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.