Precious Metals Rally on Week; Gold and Silver Notch 7-Week Highs

In trading action Friday, gold and platinum changed little while silver and palladium surged. All the metals scored sharp weekly gains. Gold and silver each logged seven-week highs.

Gold for December delivery rose $4.90, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,951.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Sept. 18.

"Gold and the rest of the precious metals complex soared as the market effectively crafted a fresh perspective on risk," wrote Jim Steel, chief precious metals, analyst at HSBC in a note reported by MarketWatch.

"Sentiment moved notably to a ‘risk on’ tone on the increased likelihood of Joe Biden as the next president and a gridlocked US Congress shaped the mood of the markets," he wrote.

Gold futures gained 3.8% this week after falling 1.3% last week. The yellow metal is 28.1% 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 15 analysts participated in the survey. A total of 14 voters each, or 93%, called for gold prices to rise next week; meanwhile, one analyst, or 7%, called for lower prices; no analysts were neutral on gold next week…

A total of 1,310 votes were cast this past week. Among those, 1008 voters, or 77%, said they were bullish on gold next week. Another 188, or 14%, said they were bearish, while 114 voters, or 9%, were neutral."

Elsewhere, silver for December delivery tacked on 47.1 cents, or 1.9%, to settle at $25.662. Like for gold, silver’s close was its best since Sept. 18. Silver prices shot ahead 8.5% this week after dropping 4.2% last week. The metal is 43.2% higher on the year.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

• January platinum dipped 50 cents, or 0.06%, to $899.40 an ounce, but jumped 6% on the week.

• Palladium for December delivery soared $116.40, or 4.9%, to $2,500 an ounce, for a 12.8% weekly increase.

The two are divided on the year so far with platinum 8% lower and palladium 30.9% higher.

London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)

London precious metals prices ended higher on Friday and for the week. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:

• Gold added $2.35, or 0.1%, to $1,940.80 an ounce.
• Silver rose $1.21, or 4.9%, to $25.78 an ounce.
• Platinum gained $14, or 1.6%, to $911 an ounce.
• Palladium added $46, or 1.9%, to $2,450 an ounce.

In LBMA weekly results, prices rose 3.1% for gold, 9.1% for silver, 6.9% for platinum and 10% for palladium.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020

United States Mint bullion sales performed stronger this week than last week — for both gold and silver coins. In week-over-week comparisons:

• Sales of American Gold Eagles climbed 25,000 ounces after increasing by 21,000 ounces last week.

• Sales of American Silver Eagles advanced 1,653,000 ounces after rising by 937,000 ounces last week.

• Sales of American Buffalo gold increased 7,500 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.