Silver Loses 7.5% on the Week, but Rises 5.6% in Feb.

For the first week in six, London silver ended lower as it plunged below $14 an ounce on Wednesday and it continued to fall through Friday. Silver lost $1.07, or 7.49 percent, on the week to end at $13.21 an ounce.

In more cheerful news, silver ended the month of February on a high, rising 5.6 percent over its close of $12.51 on Jan. 30.

Silver did pick up steam in New York later Friday, as futures for March delivery climbed 13.5 cents, or 1%, to $13.085 an ounce. However, New York silver also ended the week down, falling $1.405, or 9.7 percent, from the $14.49 close on Friday, Feb. 20.

The following tables list precious metal prices from Friday PM to Friday PM:

London Fix Precious Metal Prices
	Gold		Silver	Platinum		Palladium
	AM	PM		AM	PM	AM	PM
2/20/2009	981.00	989.00	14.28	1083	1086	216	216
2/27/2009	943.75	952.00	13.21	1054	1059	196	195

 

Dollar and Percent Changes Friday PM-Friday PM
2/20-2/27	Gold	Silver	Platinum	Palladium
$ Change	-$37.00	-$1.07	-$27.00	-$21.00
% Change	-3.74%	-7.49%	-2.49%	-9.72%

 

These articles offer week ending precious metals news:

• Gold ends lower for fifth session, loses 6% on week – MarketWatch
  Gold futures ended Friday’s trading down just a dime, closing lower for a fifth straight session as U.S. stocks and crude-oil futures pared losses, reducing the metal’s investment appeal.

• Gold Falls for Fifth Day as Dollar Strengthens; Silver Advances – Bloomberg
  Gold fell, capping the first weekly loss in three, as the dollar strengthened to the highest level since April 2006, eroding the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment. Silver advanced.

• It’s Still a Miner Issue…But, It Could Be Major– Jon Nadler, Kitco
  A fifth day of declines brought gold prices to nearly 9% under last Friday’s $1007 peak, and sent speculators wondering about whether the ‘correction’ label still applies to this week’s action.

• Weekend Report: Silver, Gold, Platinum and Stock Prices – CoinNews
  Precious metals were battered as gold fell for five straight days and below the $1,000 mark it had just surged over last Friday. For the numbers, the London gold fixing fell 3.7 percent, silver lost 7.5 percent and platinum dropped 2.5 percent. The Dow lost 4.1 percent, the S&P declined 4.5 percent and the Nasdaq fell 4.4 percent. European stocks ended lower as well.