Gold gained on Friday while other precious metals declined. Gold’s increase was its sixth in a row, and its ninth in ten sessions. The yellow metal also logged another, more than two-week high.
Gold for April delivery tacked on $4.70, or 0.3%, to finish at $1,842.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was gold’s highest since Jan. 25.
"We should note that rising inflation and the return of positive yields could be challenging…for precious metals. But so far investors are still trusting gold, which could be an interesting hedging in case of market disruption," said Carlo Alberto De Casa, external market analyst at Kinesis Money, in a note reported by MarketWatch.
"In this scenario, gold is also representing a hedge in case central banks would not be able to contain inflation," he said.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that consumer prices increased 0.6% in January, lifting annual inflation by 7.5% for the biggest gain since February 1982.
Gold prices advanced 1.9% this week after rising 1.2% last week. They are 0.7% 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 Wall Street analysts participated in Kitco News’ gold survey. Among the participants, 6, or 40%, called for gold prices to rise. At the same time, four analysts, or 27%, called for lower gold prices next week. Five analysts, or 33%, were neutral on gold in the near term.
Meanwhile, 597 votes were cast in online Main Street polls. Of these, 373 respondents, or 62%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 128, or 21%, said lower, while 96 voters, or 16%, were neutral in the near term."
Ending lower for the first time in six sessions, silver for March declined 15.3 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $23.369 an ounce. Despite the day’s loss, silver prices shot up 4% from a week ago. On Thursday, the metal scored its best close since Jan. 26. Silver is up a smidgen (0.07%) this year.
In PGM futures on Friday and for the week:
-
April platinum fell $23.80, or 2.3%, to end at $1,018.70 an ounce, for a 0.5% weekly loss.
- Palladium for March delivery dropped $71.70, or 3.2%, to end at $2,193.60 an ounce, for a 4.2% weekly loss.
Both metals are still higher on the year so far with solid gains of 5.4% for platinum and 14.7% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
Weekly sales of United States Mint bullion products improved overall for gold coins and remained steady for silver coins. In week-over-week comparisons:
- American Gold Eagles rose 22,500 ounces against 15,500 ounces last week,
- American Gold Buffalos added 5,500 ounces compared to 8,500 ounces last week, and
- American Silver Eagles rose 500,000 ounces for a second week in a row.
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 | This Week / February | December | January | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 13,500 | 21,000 | 41,000 | 123,500 | 144,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 45,000 | 45,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 64,000 | 66,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 15,000 | 10,000 | 0 | 195,000 | 205,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,500 | 5,500 | 10,500 | 61,500 | 67,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 0 | 5,001,000 | 5,501,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
