An interesting week for the metals…let’s look at the charts.
First, there’s gold:
Silver is second:
Platinum is third:
Palladium is fourth:
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the metals’ performance is the difference from one metal’s chart to the next. But, the common element is the upward trend, for the most part, for all of the metals.
Gold started the week only slightly up from the previous Friday’s close, but on Tuesday, it shot upward to a new high. Wednesday saw another small climb in gold’s value. Thursday’s fall back was sharp but not below the week’s start. Friday’s gold climbed again, not to a new high but close.
Similar, yet different, silver began the week climbing higher than the previous Friday’s close and kept climbing higher on Tuesday and Wednesday to the point of achieving a new high. Silver fell backward on Thursday but to a level that was still higher than the week’s start. To end the week on an upward note, Friday’s silver performance included a sharp growth spurt to another new high value.
Platinum’s performance chart looks more like eroded canyons than mountains. Regardless, the week saw growth in the white metal even though Monday started with a drop from the previous Friday’s close. Tuesday, on the other hand, saw a sharp growth spurt in the metal’s values. On Wednesday, the metal increased slightly only to drop backward on Thursday though not very far. Like gold and silver, platinum ended the week on an upward trend. Platinum’s week did not introduce either new highs or new lows, but the metal almost climbed back to its most recent high point.
Bringing up the rear, palladium’s performance during the week was odd in comparison to the other metals. The metal began the week growing above the previous Friday’s growth spurt. Tuesday saw an even sharper climb upward with a small growth continuing on Wednesday. But on both Thursday and Friday, palladium lost value – not a significant drop, but a loss nonetheless. Palladium’s performance didn’t make it back to the metal’s most recent high, but it ended the week higher than last week’s performance.
Now, let’s look at the tables. The first table shows the highs and lows over the last 30 days:
| 30 day high | 30 day low | Feb 25 Last | Difference between High and Low |
|
| Gold | $1,435.70 | $1,328.00 | $1,432.80 | 7.5% |
| Silver | $35.67 | $28.27 | $35.67 | 20.7% |
| Platinum | $1,863.00 | $1,772.00 | $1,841.00 | 4.9% |
| Palladium | $859.00 | $767.00 | $810.00 | 10.7% |
The percentage differences between the highs and lows for silver and palladium indicate more volatility in those metals’ peaks and valleys for the last 30 days.
The next table compares this week’s ending values to the previous week’s.
| Feb 25 Last | Feb 25 Last | Percent Change | Dollar Change |
|
| Gold | $1,409.60 | $1,432.80 | 1.6% | $23.20 |
| Silver | $33.38 | $35.67 | 6.9% | $2.29 |
| Platinum | $1,805.00 | $1,841.00 | 2.0% | $36.00 |
| Palladium | $789.00 | $810.00 | 2.7% | $21.00 |
For the past week, platinum enjoyed the largest increase in dollars with silver the largest percentage upswing in the end of week comparisons.
What will the next week bring? Stay tuned…