Gold Ends Under $1,800 and Logs Third Weekly Loss

Precious metals futures were mixed Friday and for the holiday-shortened trading week. Markets in the U.S. closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and ended early on Black Friday. Gold and silver ended the day at multi-month lows, and each registered their third straight weekly loss.

Gold for February delivery — the new, most-active contract — lost $23.10, or 1.3%, to settle at $1,788.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close was the lowest since gold ended at $1,779.90 an ounce on July 1.

"As soon as prices touched below the key $1,800 level, it triggered a sell-off. It is probable that prices might test the $1,750 level given we have a strong fundamental reason like the vaccine," Reuters quoted OANDA analyst Craig Erlam.

Gold futures traded 4.5% traded lower this week after losses of 0.7% last week and 3.4% for the week ended Nov. 13. Still, they are 17.4% 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 six voters each, or 40%, called for gold prices to rise next week; meanwhile, eight analysts, or 53%, called for lower prices; 1 analyst or 7% were neutral on gold.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,270 votes were cast this past week in online surveys. Among those, 585 voters, or 48%, said they were bullish on gold next week. Another 424 participants, or 33%, said they were bearish, while 261 voters, or 21%, were neutral on the precious metal."

Silver for March delivery — the new, most-active contract — dropped 80.7 cents, or 3.4%, to close at $22.639. The settlement was the lowest since silver ended at $21.557 an ounce on July 21.

Silver futures traded 7.1% lower this week following losses of 1.7% last week and 3.5% for the week ended Nov. 13. They are 26.3% higher on the year.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

• January platinum declined $5, or 0.5%, to $964.80 an ounce, but moved ahead 0.8% on the week.

• Palladium for March delivery advanced $75, or 3.2%, to $2,439.70 an ounce, for a 5% weekly increase.

The two are divided on the year so far with platinum 1.3% lower and palladium 27.8% higher.

London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)

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

• Gold declined $28.10, or 1.6%, to $1,779.30 an ounce.
• Silver fell 22.5 cents, or 1%, to $23.135 an ounce.
• Platinum declined $9, or 0.9%, to $949 an ounce.
• Palladium fell $2, or 0.1%, to $2,362 an ounce.

In LBMA weekly results, prices declined 5.1% for gold, 4.3% for silver, 0.7% for platinum and 1.1% for palladium.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020

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

• Sales of American Gold Eagles climbed 19,000 ounces after increasing by 25,000 ounces last week.

• Sales of American Silver Eagles advanced 825,000 ounces after rising by 754,500 ounces last week.

• Sales of American Buffalo gold increased 5,500 ounces after they rose by 6,000 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.