On Friday, the prices of precious metals diverged, with gold and silver falling after reaching their highest levels in over 2-2/3 years and nearly 14 months, respectively, while platinum and palladium rose.
Gold for June delivery gave back $30.90, or 1.5%, to settle at $2,024.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold prices were dragged lower toward the psychologically important $2,000 mark "by the higher-than-expected headline [nonfarm payroll report], coupled with the unemployment rate matching a multi-decade low," Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity Group, told MarketWatch.
"This latest evidence of a still-tight labor market is casting fresh doubt on a Fed hike pause, to the chagrin of the zero-yielding precious metal," he said.
Gold prices rose 1.3% over the past week, building on a 0.4% increase from the previous week. Year to date, prices are up 10.9%. Additionally, on Thursday, gold settled at its second-highest point, reaching a price not seen since August 6, 2020.
As we look ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:
"This week, 22 Wall Street analysts participated in the Kitco News Gold Survey. Among the participants, seven analysts, or 32%, were bullish on gold in the near term. At the same time, nine analysts, or 41%, were bearish for next week, and six analysts, or 27%, saw prices trading sideways.
Meanwhile, 774 votes were cast in online polls. Of these, 500 respondents, or 65%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 163, or 21%, said it would be lower, while 111 voters, or 14%, were neutral in the near term."
After reaching their highest settlement since March 10, 2022, silver for July delivery fell by 29.7 cents, or 1.1%, to finish at $25.93 an ounce. Despite this, silver prices advanced this week by 2.8%, after rising 0.7% last week, bringing the year-to-date gain to 7.9%.
Turning to other precious metals, on Friday and for the week:
-
July platinum increased by $18, or 1.7%, to end at $1,068.30 an ounce, trimming its weekly loss to 2%.
- Palladium for June delivery jumped by $45.20, or 3.1%, to close at $1,486.80, reducing its weekly decline to 1.5%.
In terms of year-to-date performances, platinum has declined by 1.4%, while palladium has posted a loss of 17.3%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
This week, the U.S. Mint reported no change in bullion sales. Last week, the bureau reported gains totaling 37,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 4,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
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 / Week | Last Week | February | March | April | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 37,000 | 41,500 | 211,000 | 159,000 | 529,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 54,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 12,000 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 96,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 85,000 | 10,000 | 35,000 | 245,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 19,500 | 73,000 | 61,000 | 212,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 6,649,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | N/A | 7,500 | 500 | 8,000 |
