This week, the metals’ ups and downs were somewhat alike but not exactly. All but one of the metals began the week down from the previous Friday’s closing values. At the end of Friday, all of the metals went up from their drops on Thursday with some increasing significantly and others only slightly.
Let’s look at the charts. First, there’s gold:
Second is silver:
Third is platinum:
Fourth is palladium:
Just look at those charts. A mountain (silver) or sharp peaks (other three metals) occurred at the end of April. Since that time, sharp valleys and small hills are visible across the four charts.
Gold ended the previous week going downward which continued through Tuesday of this week. Wednesday’s gold trading ended up, but it fell back slightly on Thursday. Friday, however, ended the day with an increase which regained the losses of the past two weeks.
Being different, silver ended the previous week on an upward trend which it lost, that and more, at Monday’s close. Silver values climbed on Tuesday and Wednesday, fell back $0.08 on Thursday and closed on Friday up $0.12 from the previous day. In other words, silver values remained almost constant from Wednesday through Friday.
Monday saw platinum values continuing downward from their previous Friday’s falling direction, but on Tuesday, platinum regained some of its losses. For Wednesday and Thursday, platinum dropped backward again, but only slightly. Platinum ended the week on an upward note.
Another different player, palladium, began the week going upward and continued a sharp incline through Wednesday. On Thursday, the metal fell back slightly but regained the loss with an upward movement on Friday. Palladium’s gains for the week recaptured its losses during the last two weeks.
Let’s look at the highs and lows for the 30 day performance period.
| 30 day high | 30 day low | May 20 Last | Difference between High and Low |
|
| Gold | $1,565.70 | $1,473.10 | $1,513.50 | 5.9% |
| Silver | $48.70 | $32.50 | $35.06 | 33.3% |
| Platinum | $1,873.00 | $1,753.00 | $1,771.00 | 6.4% |
| Palladium | $789.00 | $706.00 | $733.00 | 10.5% |
Platinum was the only metal to achieve a new low this week. Gold’s low point changed, but it increased. Silver and palladium did not fall below their recent lows. None of the metals approach their end of April highs.
Next, let’s view the table comparing the previous week’s closing values to this Friday’s close on the New York market:
| May 13 Last | May 20 Last | Percent Change | Dollar Change |
|
| Gold | $1,495.20 | $1,513.50 | 1.2% | $18.30 |
| Silver | $35.30 | $35.06 | -0.7% | -$0.24 |
| Platinum | $1,765.00 | $1,771.00 | 0.3% | $6.00 |
| Palladium | $706.00 | $733.00 | 3.8% | $27.00 |
Silver was the only metal to not regain all of its losses during the week. And, just look at palladium. It regained the most percentagewise and dollarwise.
What’s really interesting in this market is the diversity of opinions on the metals’ values, but in particular, silver’s performance.
The opinions vary widely from silver is priced too high, silver is priced too low, it’s going to fall dramatically, it’s going to increase significantly, and it’s going to stay fairly consistent for the summer. Some think the prices are being manipulated, others think the market is performing as it should. Some claim there’s a shortage of silver, others say there is no lack of silver on the market.
Time will prove some right and some wrong, but the differing opinions tell the real story – no one knows.