Gold and Silver Log Modest Weekly Gains; Platinum Settles at New 6-Year High

Gold edged lower Friday while silver, platinum and palladium zipped ahead. All four precious metals scored weekly increases, led by platinum which ended the day at a fresh, more than six-year high. Silver drove its streak of weekly gains to five straight, while gold registered its first weekly advance in three weeks.

Gold for April delivery on Friday lost $3.60, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,823.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold prices are "likely to resume their uptrend in coming weeks given our expectations for the dollar to weaken further alongside real yields remaining low or negative," Reuters quoted Standard Chartered analyst Suki Cooper. "Market focus remains on the size and timing of the U.S. fiscal stimulus, inflation expectations and progress of the vaccine rollout," she added.

Gold futures traded 0.6% higher this week following losses of 2% last week and 0.3% for the week ending Jan. 29. They are 3.8% 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 10 voters, or 71%, called for gold prices to fall next week; meanwhile, there was a tie among bullish and neutral analysts, with both forecasts getting two votes, or 14% each.

Looking at Main Street investors, 1,257 votes were cast in the online survey. Among those, 644, or 51%, said they were bullish on gold next week. Another 350 participants, or 28%, said they were bearish, while 263 voters, or 21%, were neutral on the precious metal."

Meanwhile, silver for March delivery tacked on 28.1 cents, or 1%, to settle at $27.328 an ounce. Silver prices gained 1.1% this week. They have advanced a combined $2.69, or 10.9%, through their five weekly increases. Silver is 3.5% higher on the year.

In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:

• April platinum rose $12, or 1%, to $1,259 an ounce, for the highest settlement since Jan. 27, 2015 when ending at $1,264.30 an ounce. The metal posted a 11.1% weekly gain.

• Palladium for March delivery surged $35.60, or 1.5%, to $2,382.60 an ounce, for an increase on the week of 2.4%.

The two are divided on the year so far with platinum 16.7% higher and palladium 2.9% lower.

London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)

London precious metals prices ended mostly lower on Friday. In comparing their levels from Thursday PM to Friday PM:

• Gold declined $23.75, or 1.3%, to $1,816.35 an ounce.
• Silver fell 5.5 cents, or 0.2%, to $27.07 an ounce.
• Platinum lost $15, or 1.2%, to $1,221 an ounce.
• Palladium added $2, or 0.1%, to $2,355 an ounce.

In LBMA weekly results, prices rose 0.7% for gold, 2% for silver, 8.9% for platinum and 0.7% for palladium.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021

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

• Sales of American Gold Eagles moved up 37,000 ounces after they increased 64,500 ounces last week.

• Sales of American Silver Eagles added 500,000 ounces after rising 1,621,000 ounces last week.

• Sales of American Buffalo gold coins rose 2,500 ounces after they gained 9,000 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.