U.S. bullion prices mostly rallied during the third week of August. Palladium cannot be put in the category as it only eked out a 0.1% weekly gain. Gold, silver and platinum, however, easily fit the bill with respective gains on the week of 6.3%, 8.5% and 4.4%.
December gold prices on Friday added $30.20, or 1.7%, to set a new record closing high at $1,852.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The day also saw a new all-time intraday high when gold hit $1,881.40 an ounce.
"Gold is the currency of the world at the moment, with the world convinced that the monetary and fiscal authorities are likely to do nothing right and everything wrong when it comes to resolving the world’s current fiscal problems," Dennis Gartman said in his daily Gartman Letter today which was recounted on Bloomberg.
Silver was the best performer on the week and day. September silver prices on Friday gained $1.74, or 4.3%, to $42.43 an ounce. That was its best settlement price since May 3.
Silver prices this year have risen 37.2%. Gold is just behind at 30.3%.
In PGM futures prices on Friday, September palladium fell $8.20, or 1.1%, to $748.80 an ounce while October platinum added $27.20, or 1.5%, to $1,874.90 an ounce. The precious metals diverge on the year, with platinum up 5.4% and palladium down 6.8%.
U.S. Mint Bullion Coins
Action was mute Thursday and Friday when it comes to U.S. Mint bullion coins, based on the available figures published on the bureau’s website. Mint news of the week focused on its gold and silver products. The former (collector versions) went through a fourth round of price increases in five weeks. The later (also collector versions) experienced some suspensions Friday, with two silver sets going off sale after silver prices topped $42 an ounce.
The latest U.S. bullion figures are provided below in the daily, August 2011 and YTD 2011 columns.
| United States Mint 2011 Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday Gain |
Prior Weekly |
Weekly Gain |
August 2011 |
2011 Totals |
|
| 1 oz American Gold Buffalo | 0 | 8,000 | 7,000 | 17,500 | 109,000 |
| 1 oz American Gold Eagle | 0 | 41,000 | 26,500 | 76,500 | 645,500 |
| 1/2 oz American Gold Eagle | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 61,000 |
| 1/4 oz American Gold Eagle | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 68,000 |
| 1/10 oz American Gold Eagle | 0 | 25,000 | 5,000 | 40,000 | 305,000 |
| 5 oz America the Beautiful Silver | - | - | - | 10,300 | 380,400 |
| 1 oz American Silver Eagle | 0 | 891,000 | 815,500 | 2,134,500 | 27,406,000 |
Notes. Figures above are in coins, not ounces sold. The United States Mint last updated the 5 oz. America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin sales on Monday, August 15, 2011. All other figures have an "as of date" of Friday, August 19, 2011.
London Bullion Prices
Bullion prices in London split directions Friday but climbed in unison for the week. PM fixing prices included the following daily changes:
- Gold added $24, or 1.3%, at $1,848 an ounce
- Silver added $1.66, or 4.1%, at $41.98 an ounce
- Palladium fell $16, or 2.1%, at $750 an ounce
- Platinum added $19, or 1%, at $1,855 an ounce
On a weekly basis, silver jumped the most with a fixing that was 9.6% higher. Gold came in second at 6.5%, then platinum at 3.1% and finally palladium at 0.4%.
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/gold/t24_au_en_usoz_2.gif)
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/platinum/t24_pt_en_usoz_2.gif)
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/palladium/t24_pd_en_usoz_2.gif)
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