Precious metals advanced on Friday, padding weekly increases which extended to two in a row.
Gold for June delivery rose $3.70, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,851.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold prices gained 0.5% this week after rising 1.9% last week. They are 1.2% 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 17 Wall Street analysts participated in Kitco News’ gold survey. Among the participants, 11 analysts, or 65%, called for gold prices to rise next week. At the same time, two analysts, or 12%, were bearish on gold in the near term, and four analysts, or 23%, were neutral on prices.
Meanwhile,570 votes were cast in online Main Street polls. Of these, 317 respondents, or 56%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 163, or 29%, said lower, while 90 voters, or 16%, were neutral in the near term."
Elsewhere, silver for July delivery settled up 13.1 cents, or 0.6%, to $22.096 an ounce. Silver prices advanced 2% this week after surging 3.2% this week. They are 5.4% lower on the year.
In PGM prices on Friday and for the week:
-
July platinum added $5.60, or 0.6%, to end at $943 an ounce, for a 0.2% weekly increase.
- Palladium for June delivery jumped $51.20, or 2.6%, to end at $2,044.70 an ounce, for a 5.4% weekly gain.
The two are split on the year so far with platinum 2.4% lower and palladium 6.9% higher.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
United States Mint bullion sales slowed this week from last week. In week-over-week comparisons:
- American Gold Eagles rose 46,000 ounces after climbing 58,500 ounces previously
- American Gold Buffalos advanced 15,500 ounces after rising 20,000 ounces previously
- American Silver Eagles were flat after gaining 425,000 ounces previously
Published United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged on Thursday. 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 / This Week | Last Week | March | April | May | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 44,500 | 57,000 | 140,500 | 80,500 | 137,500 | 568,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 3,000 | 1,000 | 5,000 | 3,000 | 5,000 | 58,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 20,000 | 14,000 | 8,000 | 110,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 75,000 | 25,000 | 50,000 | 370,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 15,500 | 20,000 | 64,500 | 27,500 | 52,000 | 234,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 425,000 | 1,080,500 | 850,000 | 850,000 | 9,281,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 14,200 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
