Palladium was the only precious metal to experience a loss on Friday, but it did edge higher for the week. Gold posted the smallest daily gain and was the only one to log a weekly loss, albeit a very minor one.
Rising for the sixth time in seven sessions, gold for December delivery moved up by $6, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,945.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The main focal point is the idea that Fed will keep rates higher for longer and that has driven the dollar, yields higher and has applied pressure to not just gold, but commodity markets across the board," Reuters quoted David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
Despite gold’s streak of daily gains, it recorded a 0.03% weekly loss — primarily due to a 1.4% drop on Thursday. Gold prices have not shown much movement lately. Last week, gold inched 0.2% higher. In terms of year-to-date performance, the value of the yellow metal has risen by 6.5%.
Looking to the week ahead, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street surveys:
"This week, 13 Wall Street analysts participated in the Kitco News Gold Survey. Six experts, or 46%, expected to see higher gold prices next week, while only two analysts, or 15%, predicted a drop in price. Five analysts, or 38%, were neutral on gold for the coming week.
Meanwhile, 591 votes were cast in online polls. Of these, 292 respondents, or 49%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 208, or 35%, expected it would be lower, while 91 voters, or 15%, were neutral in the near term."
Elsewhere, silver for December delivery climbed by 15.7 cents, or 0.7%, to close at $23.844 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since Sept. 5. Silver prices advanced this week by 2% after rising by 0.9% last week. Year to date, they have dipped by 0.8%.
In other precious metals, both on Friday and for the week:
-
October platinum rose by $9.50, or 1%, to end at $934.10 an ounce, advancing enough to give the metal a weekly gain of 0.5%.
- Palladium for December delivery fell by $13.40, or 1.1%, to finish at $1,256.10 an ounce, reducing the weekly increase to 0.3%.
Reviewing their performance since the beginning of the year, platinum has declined by 13.7%, whereas palladium has dropped by 30.1%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
U.S. Mint bullion sales have remained unchanged since a week ago Wednesday, Sept. 13. 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 / This Week | Last Week | July | August | September | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,500 | 41,000 | 78,000 | 12,000 | 756,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 10,000 | 85,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 22,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 22,000 | 156,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 15,000 | 0 | 150,000 | 35,000 | 570,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 16,500 | 19,500 | 15,500 | 328,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 785,000 | 209,100,000 | 3,124,000 | 1,502,000 | 16,441,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
