Palladium declined sharply on Friday while gold, silver and platinum rose modestly. Only gold marked a weekly gain — a fifth straight, and it also scored another nine-month high.
Rising for a second consecutive session, gold for February delivery climbed $4.30, or 0.2%, to finish at $1,928.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was gold’s highest since it ended at $1,934.30 an ounce on April 22.
Gold prices for the week edged up 0.3%. The precious metal is 5.6% 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, 18 Wall Street analysts participated in the Kitco News Gold Survey. Among the participants, eight analysts, or 44%, were bullish on gold in the near term. At the same time, four analysts, or 22%, were bearish for next week and six analysts, or 33%, saw prices trading sideways.
Meanwhile, 783 votes were cast in online polls. Of these, 500 respondents, or 64%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 169, or 22%, said it would be lower, while 114 voters, or 15%, were neutral in the near term."
Also gaining for a second session, silver for March delivery settled up 6.5 cents, or 0.3%, to $23.935 an ounce. Silver prices fell 1.8% this week after rising 1.6% last week. Last Friday, silver at $24.372 an ounce registered its best settlement since April 21.
In PGM prices on Friday and for the week:
-
April platinum added $6.70, or 0.6%, to end at $1,047.80 an ounce, but slipped 2.3% on the week.
- Palladium for March delivery fell $45.30, or 2.6%, to $1,723.20 an ounce, for a 3.6% weekly decline.
The two are lower on the year so far with losses of 3.2% for platinum and 4.2% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Published United States Mint bullion sales showed lower results this week compared to last week. In week-over-week comparisons:
- American Gold Eagles: 12,000 ounces against 131,500 ounces
- American Gold Buffalos: 500 ounces compared to 44,000 ounces
- American Silver Eagles: 500,000 ounces against 3,449,000
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 | November | December | 2022 Sales | Last Week | This Week | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 850,000 | 90,000 | 11,000 | 101,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 | 34,000 | 1,000 | 35,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 140,000 | 50,000 | 2,000 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 575,000 | 115,000 | 0 | 115,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,500 | 0 | 410,000 | 44,000 | 500 | 44,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,407,000 | 59,000 | 15,963,500 | 3,499,000 | 500,000 | 3,949,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The gap between former number one precious metal palladium and previously number two precious metal gold has now reached $276 in favor of the latter. Things change.
It might be a good time now to buy gold before its price becomes totally prohibitive.
Not Palladium? Buy low, sell high.
There we go; another example of how one’s vision can get so blindered that whatever is going on outside that relatively narrow, restrictive band falls off the radar. Thanks, Antonio, for the reality check; always appreciated!
I’ll continue to buy silver though it’s down. Gold and Palladium are a bit too rich for me, and you as well. We need groceries and gasoline more than precious metals.
Saying gold and palladium are a bit pricey is a colossal understatement; they’re completely out of my reach, Antonio.