Prices of precious metals changed narrowly on Friday, except for palladium, and all of them recorded weekly gains, except for palladium. Advances for the week were the first in five weeks for gold and in six weeks for silver.
On Friday, gold for December delivery shed $7.20, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,939.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Throughout the day, the marketplace paid close attention to the annual Federal Reserve symposium held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and listened to comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
"Gold’s reaction to Powell’s signal that the Fed is on hold but vigilant is somewhat disappointing, suggesting demand at current levels may be limited," Reuters quoted Tai Wong, a New York-based independent metals trader. "We are likely in a trading range, though a close under $1,900 could trigger some liquidation."
This week, gold prices recorded a gain of $23.40, or 1.2%, following four consecutive weeks of declines that had accumulated to $50.10, or 2.6%. Year to date, the yellow metal has increased by 6.3%.
Looking forward to the upcoming week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street surveys:
"This week, 12 Wall Street analysts participated in the Kitco News Gold Survey, and they were evenly split on gold’s direction. Five experts, or 42%, expected to see higher gold prices next week, while another five analysts, or 42%, predicted a drop in price. Two analysts, or 17%, were neutral on gold for the coming week.
Meanwhile, 559 votes were cast in online polls. Of these, 388 respondents, or 69%, looked for gold to rise next week, 114, or 20%, expect it will be lower, and 57 voters, or 10%, were neutral in the near term."
Rising for the sixth time in seven sessions, silver for September edged up by nearly half a cent, or 0.02%, to settle at $24.234 an ounce. As for the week, silver prices soared by $1.50, or 6.6%, snapping a five-week streak of losses that had reached $2.46, or 9.8%. Year to date, the precious metal has inched 0.8% higher.
In other precious metals, both on Friday and for the week:
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October platinum rose by $5.20, or 0.6%, closing at $948.20 an ounce, resulting in a weekly gain of 3.6%.
- Palladium for September delivery declined by $15.50, or 1.3%, to end at $1,229.10 an ounce, resulting in a weekly loss of 2.5%.
Reviewing their performance since the beginning of the year, platinum has fallen by 12.4%, while palladium has dropped by 31.6%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Published U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Monday, they increased by 36,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 756,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 8,000 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 (not total ounces) during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | Last Week | This Week | June | July | August | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 36,500 | 35,000 | 41,000 | 52,500 | 719,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 75,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 134,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 60,000 | 0 | 60,000 | 445,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 11,500 | 8,000 | 17,000 | 16,500 | 19,500 | 312,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 760,000 | 756,000 | 1,482,000 | 209,100,000 | 2,339,000 | 14,154,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,500 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
