Prices for precious metals took different paths on Friday as well as for the week. Platinum and palladium saw significant increases, while gold and silver posted declines during both periods.
On Friday, gold for June delivery fell by $28.60, or 1.4%, to settle at $1990.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, marking its weakest settlement since March 31.
Gold prices lost 1.3% this week and 0.5% last week, following six straight weekly increases during which prices rose a combined $209.30 or 11.5%. Year-to-date, gold prices have climbed by 9%
In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:
"This week, 23 Wall Street analysts participated in the Kitco News Gold Survey. Among the participants, six analysts, or 26%, were bullish on gold in the near term. At the same time, eight analysts, or 35%, were bearish for next week, and nine analysts, or 49%, saw prices trading sideways.
Meanwhile, 618 votes were cast in online polls. Of these, 329 respondents, or 53%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 166, or 27%, said it would be lower, while 123 voters, or 20%, were neutral in the near term."
Elsewhere, silver for May delivery dropped 31.5 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $25.058 an ounce. The finish was the lowest since April 10. As for the week, silver gave back 1.6%, snapping a five weekly winning streak in which prices jumped $4.95 or 24.2%. Year-to-date, silver prices are up by 4.2%.
In other precious metals prices on Friday and for the week:
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July platinum advanced $31.30, or 2.8%, to end at $1,138.70 an ounce, padding it weekly gain to 8%.
- Palladium for June delivery tacked on $18.70, or 1.2%, to close at $1,607.40 an ounce, for a 7.4% weekly gain.
In terms of year-to-date performance, platinum has increased by 5.2%, while palladium has experienced a decline of 10.6%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
U.S. Mint bullion sales of American Eagle and Buffalo gold coins slowed this week, while they picked up for American Eagle silver coins. When comparing sales on a week-over-week basis:
- American Platinum Eagles: 0 ounces for a second week in a row
- American Gold Eagles: 48,500 ounces against 57,500 ounces
- American Gold Buffalos: 22,000 ounces compared to 25,500 ounces
- American Silver Eagles: 450,000 ounces against 0 ounces
The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday / This Week | Last Week | January Sales | February | March | April | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 47,500 | 56,500 | 118,000 | 41,500 | 211,000 | 122,000 | 492,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 37,000 | 8,000 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 54,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 2,000 | 0 | 62,000 | 12,000 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 96,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 10,000 | 115,000 | 85,000 | 10,000 | 35,000 | 245,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 22,000 | 25,500 | 59,000 | 19,500 | 73,000 | 57,000 | 208,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 450,000 | 0 | 3,949,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 6,649,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A | 7,500 | 500 | 8,000 |
