Bullion Prices: January, 2010 Report on Gold, Silver and Platinum

Precious metals prices fell on Friday, ending with both weekly and monthly losses. As the dollar jumped 2% in January against other currencies, US gold futures retreated 1.1% and London gold ended down 2.3%. Silver and platinum generally slid more though most of the month, reacting not only to gold’s direction but on worries that industrial demand for the metals would lesson.

In New York bullion monthly prices silver lost 3.9% and platinum retreated 3.2%. Gold for April delivery ended at $1,083.80 for a weekly loss of $5.90, or 0.5%. Silver futures for March delivery ended at $16.190 an ounce, falling 74 cents, or 4.4%, on the week. April platinum closed to $1,506.00, losing $38.50, or 2.5%, on the week.

In London Fix bullion prices for January, silver declined 4.1% and platinum fell 3.1%. Gold on Friday was fixed to $1,078.50 an ounce, falling $5.50, or 0.5%, for the week. Silver ended at $16.29 an ounce, for a weekly loss of 99 cents, or 5.7%. Platinum settled at $1,512.00 an ounce, losing $28.00, or 1.8%, for the week.

"The strong dollar has been the primary catalyst for the sell-off in gold," Bill O’Neill, managing partner at Logic Investment Services, said on MarketWatch.

"Further gains in the dollar would keep gold on the defensive, Toby Hassall, an analyst with CWA Global Markets Pty in Sydney, said on Bloomberg. "Prices are finding support at the level of December’s lows."

"The final session of the final January trading day in New York opened with a $1.50 loss in the yellow metal. Gold traded in a band of from $1078 to $1088 overnight, as few additional physical buyers (other than pre-Chinese New Year buyers) emerged to take advantage of yesterday’s [Thursday's] further significant dip," wrote Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, Inc.

"While a quick, relief-rally might still be in the cards provided the US dollar undergoes a bout of profit-taking-driven consolidation, the possibility of a breakdown below the $1070-1073 support area might engender selling that could extend all the way to the $1,050 and ultimately the $1,030 an ounce value zone for the yellow metal."

New York crude-oil for March delivery declined 75 cents, or 1%, to finish the month at $72.89 a barrel. The price is 2.2% lower than last week. Prices declined 8.2% in January. Gold, considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty, tends to follow oil and move opposite to the U.S. dollar. A rising greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities, like bullion, more expensive for holders of other world currencies.

To follow are silver, gold and platinum performance charts, and precious metal article summaries.

London Fix Weekly Precious Metals Prices

US Mint Gold and Silver Coin Weekly News

For silver and gold coin news discussing the most recent United States Mint numismatic sales report, to include bullion coins, check out the following two articles:

• 2009 US Mint Annual Report: Bullion Coin Record – CoinNews
  Fiscal year 2009 was filled with bittersweet coin news according to the recently released United States Mint 2009 Annual Report. Even with total sales of the organization responsible for American coinage at a recent high, net income and total seigniorage fell drastically in comparison. The economic recession is directly responsible for a majority of the newsworthy financial figures that were present in the report. Most notably, the record sales of bullion coins …

• US Mint Bullion Coins Lead in Sales – CoinNews
  The amount of money coin collectors have been spending on numismatic coins has fallen since the middle of December, as a holding pattern is apparent by those who have already made their 2009-dated purchases and are awaiting the US Mint’s new offerings. The latest weekly sales report from the United States Mint is the least impressive in a very long time. Only three collector products showed improvements over the prior week …

For information on newly dated bullion coins from the United States Mint, see 2010 Gold Eagles.