Precious metals advanced for a second session in a row on Friday, padding their weekly gains. Gold ended the day at a two-month high.
Gold for December delivery tacked on $23.30, or 1.3%, to close at $1,816.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Sept. 3.
"Gold bulls seem to be drawing strength from the Fed’s unhurried stance on raising interest rates," Reuters quoted FXTM analyst Lukman Otunuga, who added that subdued treasury yields are complementing gains.
Gold futures traded up 1.8% this week after sliding 0.7% last week. They are 4.1% 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 18 Wall Street analysts participated in Kitco News’ gold survey. Among the participants, ten analysts, or 56%, called for gold prices to rise next week. At the same time, two analysts, or 11%, were bearish on gold in the near term, and six analysts or 33% were neutral on prices.
Meanwhile, A total of 622 votes were cast in online Main Street polls. Of these, 326 respondents, or 52%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 188, or 30%, said lower, while 108 voters, or 17%, were neutral."
Elsewhere, silver for December delivery settled up 24.6 cents, or 1%, to $24.157 an ounce. Silver futures traded 0.9% higher this week after falling 2.1% last week. They are 8.5% lower on the year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
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January platinum added $6.50, or 0.6%, to end at $1,035.80 an ounce, for a 1.5% weekly gain.
- Palladium for December delivery added $31.20, or 1.6%, to finish at $2,027.60 an ounce, for a 2.4% weekly advance.
Both remain lower on the year so far with losses of 4% for platinum and 17.4% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
Compared to last week, United States Mint bullion sales this week slowed for gold coins but picked up for silver and platinum coins. In week-over-week comparisons:
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Sales of American Gold Eagles rose 20,000 ounces after increasing 25,000 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Buffalo gold coins were unchanged after climbing 2,000 ounces last week.
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Sales of American Silver Eagles climbed 474,500 ounces after being unchanged last week.
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Sales of American Platinum Eagles rose 7,900 ounces after being unchanged since May.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | Last Week | September | October | This Week / November | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 17,500 | 67,500 | 135,500* | 17,500 | 966,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 7,000 | 2,000 | 90,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 8,000 | 22,000 | 2,000 | 152,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 30,000 | 35,000 | 85,000 | 10,000 | 460,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 24,000 | 38,500 | 0 | 298,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,735,000 | 1,076,000 | 474,500 | 27,226,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7,900 | 82,900 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,900 |
*The U.S. Mint adjusted October bullion sales on Thursday with $50 American Gold Eagles higher by 3,500 ounces.
