Precious metals gained some momentum on Friday, either generating or enhancing their weekly gains. Notably, gold experienced its first positive increase in four weeks.
Gold for August delivery rose by $17.10, or 0.9%, to settle at $1,932.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold prices edged up this week by 0.2%, following three consecutive weekly losses of 20 cents, 2.1%, and 0.3%. On Thursday, gold settled at its lowest price since March 14. The yellow metal is ahead 5.8% year-to-date.
Looking forward to the upcoming week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:
"This week, 19 Wall Street analysts participated in the Kitco News Gold Survey. Among the participants, ten analysts, or 53%, were bullish on gold in the near term. At the same time, five analysts, or 26%, were bearish for next week, and four analysts, or 21%, saw prices trading sideways.
Meanwhile, 483 votes were cast in online polls. Of these, 182 respondents, or 38%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 181, or 37%, said it would be lower, while 117 voters, or 24%, were neutral in the near term."
Bringing prices up for the week, silver for September on Friday tacked on 39.9 cents, or 1.7%, to finish at $23.289 an ounce, representing a 1.2% weekly increase following last week’s 3% gain. However, silver prices are 3.1% lower on the year.
In other precious metals, both on Friday and throughout the week:
-
October platinum ticked up by $8.80, or 1%, to end at $918.50 an ounce, marking a 0.6% weekly increase.
- Palladium for September delivery edged up by $5.70, or 0.5%, to end at $1,245.10 an ounce, representing a 1.9% weekly gain. In contrast, a week ago on Friday, palladium settled at $1,222 an ounce, its weakest settlement since Jan. 3, 2019.
Looking at their performance since the beginning of the year, platinum has fallen by 15.2%, and palladium has dropped by 30.8%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
The U.S. Mint last reported bullion sales increases on Monday, June 26. The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold (not total ounces) during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday / Week / July | Last Week | March | April | May | June | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 13,500 | 211,000 | 159,500 | 60,500 | 29,500 | 620,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 18,000 | 1,000 | 73,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 32,000 | 4,000 | 132,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 45,000 | 10,000 | 35,000 | 80,000 | 60,000 | 385,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 7,000 | 73,000 | 61,000 | 47,000 | 14,000 | 273,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 530,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 1,593,000 | 1,25,500 | 9,497,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 7,500 | 500 | 1,200 | 3,500 | 12,700 |
Kaiser,
And no sales of any bullion version coins since June 26… Summer doldrums?
NumisdudeTX