Gold Falls on Week; Silver Logs Four Straight Weekly Gains

Precious metals moved higher on Friday and they also, except for gold, registered weekly increases. Silver extended its streak of weekly gains to four in a row. Gold, meanwhile, logged it second straight weekly loss.

Gold for April delivery on Friday rose $21.80, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,813 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Friday’s increase was supported by a falling U.S. dollar, opined analysts.

"Gold continues to primarily take its lead from the dollar and we expect this to remain the case in the coming sessions," Reuters quoted Suki Cooper, analyst at Standard Chartered. "Beyond the near term, we believe the outlook remains constructive for gold given the fiscal stimulus is likely to result in large U.S. twin deficits."

Gold futures traded 2% lower this week after slipping 0.3% last week. On Thursday, they posted their weakest settlement since Nov. 30. The yellow metal is 4.3% lower 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 nine voters each, or 64%, called for gold prices to rise next week; meanwhile, four participants, or 29%, said they were bearish, and one analyst, or 7%, said they were neutral on gold next week.

Meanwhile, among Main Street investors, 1,823 votes were cast in the online survey. Among those, 873, or 48%, said they were bullish on gold next week. Another 568 participants, or 31%, said they were bearish, while 382 voters, or 21%, were neutral on the precious metal."

Elsewhere, silver for March delivery tacked on 78.5 cents, or 3%, to settle at $27.019 an ounce. Silver prices edged up 0.4% this week. They have advanced a combined $2.38, or 9.7%, through their four weekly gains. On Monday, the precious metal marked its best close since Feb. 19, 2013. Silver is 2.3% higher on the year.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

• April platinum finished ahead $30, or 2.7%, to $1,133 an ounce, for a 5% weekly gain.

• Palladium for March delivery tacked on $45.60, or 2%, to $2,326.30 an ounce, for a 5.3% weekly gain.

The two are divided on the year so far with platinum 5% higher and palladium 5.2% lower.

London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)

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

• Gold added $17.05, or 1%, to $1,802.95 an ounce.
• Silver rose 13 cents, or 0.5%, to $26.53 an ounce.
• Platinum jumped $37, or 3.4%, to $1,121 an ounce.
• Palladium surged $80, or 3.5%, to $2,338 an ounce.

In LBMA weekly results, prices declined 3.3% for gold, they dropped 3.2% for silver, they rose 1% for platinum and they climbed 0.5% for palladium.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021

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

• Sales of American Gold Eagles moved up 64,500 ounces after they increased 63,500 ounces last week.

• Sales of American Silver Eagles added 1,621,000 ounces after registering flat last week.

• Sales of American Buffalo gold coins rose 9,000 ounces after they gained 5,500 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.