Silver Ends with Weekly Gain, Despite Friday Fall

Silver ended the week up in London and New York despite a pullback on Friday following a government report that helped drive the US dollar to its biggest gain since 1999, making precious metals less attractive.

A Labor Department report released Friday showed employers cut fewer jobs in November, bringing the unemployment rate down to 10 percent from 10.2 percent.

With that, gold tumbled and silver followed. Still, the metal marked a 6.1 percent increase in London and a 1.2 percent rise in New York.

New York silver futures for March delivery — the new, most active contract — ended Friday at $18.52 an ounce. In contrast, the December contract closed last Friday at $18.302 an ounce, accounting for the 1.2 percent, or 21.8 cent difference.

London silver was fixed at $18.83 an ounce, rising $1.09 for the week. It reached a high on Wednesday of $19.18 an ounce. Despite a Friday decline of 28 cents, the metal is still up $8.04, or 74.5 percent from the $10.79 London price set on Dec. 31, 2008.

London precious metal weekly prices follow:

London Fix Precious Metal Prices
	Gold		Silver	Platinum		Palladium
	AM	PM		AM	PM	AM	PM
11/27/2009	1128.75	1104.00	17.74	1418.00	1424.00	363.00	369.00
12/4/2009	1203.25	1190.25	18.83	1484.00	1472.00	382.00	378.00

 

Dollar and Percent Price Changes
	Up	Down	% Change	$ Change
Silver	X		6.1%	$1.09
Gold	X		2.0%	$23.75
Platinum	X		3.4%	$48.00
Palladium	X		2.4%	$9.00

 

These articles offer precious metals and silver coin news:

• Gold tumbles as dollar surges after positive data – MarketWatch
  Gold futures tumbled 4% Friday, sustaining their first major loss in a run that began early in November, as the U.S. dollar rose sharply after an upbeat U.S. jobs report. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery fell $48.60 to end at $1,168.80 an ounce. Friday’s losses erased gold’s weekly gain …

• Gold Falls Most in a Year as Dollar Rally Spurs Investor Sales – Bloomberg
  Gold dropped the most in a year as a rising dollar prompted some investors to sell bullion on the heels of a rally to an all-time high. The U.S. Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback’s value, rose as much as 1.7 percent after a government report showed U.S. employers cut fewer jobs last month than forecast. Gold futures fell as much as 6.5 percent from a record of …

• Benny Poppin(g)s – Jon Nadler, Kitco
  Friday’s opening had gold prices slipping towards the $1200 mark on light profit-taking, and  ahead of afternoon book-squaring activities. Spot bullion opened with a $2.80 loss, quoted at $1204.70 on the bid, as against a 74.63 reading on the US dollar index and a 1.506 tick vis a vis the euro. Crude oil fell by about half a dollar, and was last seen at $75.88 per barrel. Silver and …

• Resumption of 2009 Silver Eagle Coins – Silver Coins Today
  The United States Mint on Friday said it would again offer 2009 Silver Eagle Bullion Coins. The silver coins were halted last week as a result of enormous demand which depleted the US Mint’s inventory. "On Monday, December 7, 2009, the United States Mint will resume taking orders for 2009-dated American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins," said U.S. Mint Director of Public Affairs Tom Jurkowsky. …

• Buffalo Gold Coins Sold Out – CoinCollectingNews.org
  US gold bullion coins continue to be hot. So hot that two sell-outs occurred today with two more likely on the way within days, if not hours. According to the US Mint, the inventory for the 2009 American Gold Buffalo Bullion Coins has been depleted and no more will be struck for the year …

• Gold Eagles Inventory Runs Out – CoinNews
  The US Mint ran out of one ounce 2009 American Gold Eagle coins last week which caused their temporary suspension, and now the fractional sizes that were just launched are either gone or being allocated following record one-day sales. The demand for American Eagle coins is straining inventory, forcing the US Mint to send out another notice to its customers …

For daily silver news and prices, visit Spot Silver.