Gold Gains for Third Straight Week; Silver Soars

Most precious metals traded lower on Friday but they all gained on the week, led by silver and then by gold. Gold’s weekly gain was its third in a row.

Gold for February delivery shed $1.50, or 0.08%, to settle at $1,888.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"Gold has attached itself entirely to the negotiations on the stimulus package. … The market will rally if there’s positive momentum towards reaching a stimulus deal, and if there’s any indication of a delay gold pulls back," Reuters quoted Jeffrey Sica, founder of Circle Squared Alternative Investments. "Once stimulus gets approved in its entirety, I anticipate gold will rally substantially because it’s a massive stimulus package."

Gold futures advanced 2.5% this week following gains of 0.2% last week and 2.9% for the week ending Dec. 4. On Thursday, they logged their best settlement since Nov. 6. The yellow metal is 24% 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 14 analysts participated in the survey. A total of 11 voters, or 79%, called for gold prices to rise next week; at the same time, two analysts, or 14%, were neutral on gold. Only one analyst or 7% saw lower next week.

A total of 1,402 votes were cast this past week in online surveys. Among those, 1048 voters, or 75%, said they were bullish on gold next week. Another 202 participants, or 14%, said they were bearish, while 152 voters, or 11%, were neutral on the precious metal."

Elsewhere, silver for March delivery declined 14.8 cents, or 0.6%, to end at $26.033 an ounce. Silver futures soared 8.1% this week after sliding 0.7% last week. On Thursday, they marked their best finish since Sept. 18. They are 45.3% higher on the year.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

• January platinum lost $7, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,043.10 an ounce, but posted a 2.1% weekly increase.

• Palladium for March delivery ended up $24.50, or 1%, to $2,372 an ounce, for a 1.7% weekly gain.

Both are higher for the year so far with advances of 6.7% for platinum and 24.2% for palladium.

London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)

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

• Gold fell $11, or 0.6%, to $1,879.75 an ounce.
• Silver rose 7.5 cents, or 0.3%, to $25.815 an ounce.
• Platinum declined $7, or 0.7%, to $1,038 an ounce.
• Palladium added $6, or 0.3%, to $2,331 an ounce.

In LBMA weekly results, palladium dipped 0.04% while price rose 2.1% for gold, 8.4% for silver, and 2.9% for platinum.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020

United States Mint bullion sales slowed this week from last. In week-over-week comparisons:

• Sales of American Gold Eagles climbed 12,000 ounces after increasing by 24,000 ounces last week.

• Sales of American Silver Eagles were muted after rising by 475,000 ounces last week.

• Sales of American Buffalo gold increased 1,500 ounces after they rose by 2,500 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. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.