On Friday, prices for gold and silver soared, resulting in weekly gains of over 5% for each. Platinum also saw gains for the day and week, though more modest, while palladium declined in both aspects.
Gold for December delivery tacked on $58.50, or 3.1%, to settle at $1,941.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Sept. 22.
"Investors are fleeing to safe havens as the risks of Middle East tensions grow," Reuters quoted Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
"If the geopolitical situation gets gloomier, there is a good chance that gold prices could go to the $2,000 levels this year. We have come from mid-$1,800s to mid-$1,900s, $2,000 is just a fraction of that."
Gold prices scored a 5.2% weekly increase, adding to their year-to-date gain, which advanced to 6.3%. Looking to the week ahead, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street vs. Main Street surveys:
"This week, 14 Wall Street analysts participated in the Kitco News Gold Survey. Ten experts, or 72%, expected to see higher gold prices next week, while two analysts, or 14%, predicted a drop in price, and two others were neutral on gold for the coming week.
Meanwhile, 595 votes were cast in online polls. Of these, 431 retail investors, or 72%, looked for gold to rise next week. Another 106, or 18%, expected it would be lower, while only 58 respondents, less than 1%, were neutral about the near-term prospects for the precious metal."
Elsewhere, silver for December delivery jumped by 93.6 cents, or 4.3%, ending at $22.895 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since Sept. 26. Silver prices recorded a 5.4% weekly gain, trimming their year-to-date loss to 4.8%.
In other precious metals, both on Friday and for the week:
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January platinum rose by $8.40, or 1%, to settle at $884.20 an ounce, resulting in a 0.3% gain for the week.
- Palladium for December delivery shed $2.30, or 0.2%, to close at $1,145.20 an ounce, adding to its weekly loss, which accumulated to 1.5%.
Assessing their year-to-date performance, platinum has seen a decrease of 18.4%, while palladium has experienced a more substantial decline of 36.3%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
U.S. Mint bullion sales last changed on Wednesday, with gains reported for American Gold Eagles, American Silver Eagles, and 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 | August | September | October | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 40,500 | 21,000 | 78,000 | 27,500 | 61,500 | 833,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 13,000 | 2,000 | 90,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 30,000 | 12,000 | 176,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 150,000 | 40,000 | 15,000 | 590,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 13,500 | 8,000 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 21,500 | 352,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 785,000 | 751,000 | 3,124,000 | 2,970,000 | 1,536,000 | 19,445,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
Friday the 13th – Spot gold up $64 an oz.!!
NumisdudeTX