Gold, platinum and palladium declined on Friday, trimming their weekly gains, while silver scored a seven-week settlement high.
Ending lower for the first time in four sessions, gold for April delivery fell $12.10, or 0.6%, to finish at $1,983.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold prices climbed 0.5% on the week. Further, the yellow metal has advanced a combined $166.70, or 9.2%, through its four consecutive weekly gains. On Thursday, gold posted its highest settlement since March 10, 2022. It is 8.6% 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, 20 Wall Street analysts participated in the Kitco News Gold Survey. Among the participants, 13 analysts, or 65%, were bullish on gold in the near term. At the same time, five analysts, or 25%, were bearish for next week, and two analysts, or 10%, saw prices trading sideways.
Meanwhile, 896 votes were cast in online polls. Of these, 639 respondents, or 71%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 152, or 17%, said it would be lower, while 105 voters, or 12%, were neutral in the near term."
Elsewhere, silver for May delivery tacked on 8.3 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $23.339 an ounce. For a third straight session, the settlement was the highest since Feb. 2. Silver prices notched a 3.9% weekly increase after soaring 9.5% last week. However, they are 2.9% lower on the year.
In PGM prices on Friday and for the week:
-
April platinum shed $9, or 0.9%, to end at $983.90 an ounce, but edged 0.5% higher on the week.
- Palladium for June delivery lost $18.40, or 1.3%, to end at $1,414.40 an ounce, slimming its weekly gain to 2%.
The pair remain lower on the year so far with losses of 9.1% for platinum and 21.3% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
This week, U.S. Mint bullion sales soared, for platinum, gold and silver coins. In week-over-week comparisons:
- American Platinum Eagles: 7,500 ounces, for their first weekly total this year,
- American Gold Eagles: 107,500 ounces against 41,500 ounces,
- American Gold Buffalos: 38,500 ounces compared to 14,500 ounces, and
- American Silver Eagles: 450,000 ounces against 0 ounces.
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 | January Sales | February | March | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 15,500 | 39,500 | 107,500 | 118,000 | 41,500 | 157,500 | 317,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37,000 | 8,000 | 1,000 | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 0 | 62,000 | 12,000 | 10,000 | 84,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 115,000 | 85,000 | 10,000 | 210,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 7,500 | 14,500 | 38,500 | 59,000 | 19,500 | 57,500 | 136,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 450,000 | 3,949,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 5,749,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | N/A | 7,500 | N/A | N/A | 7,500 | 7,500 |
