Gold price hit its highest level in over a year on Friday

The Gold price hit its highest level in over a year on Friday

Report put dollar under pressure while raising questions about future interest rate hikes.

Fed will meet on September 19 to decide whether or not to raise interest rates again this year. It would surprise the market if the decision was to go ahead with another rate boost.

Overall, higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Another issue is how President Trump will remake the board.

Demand for safe-haven assets have been climbing in response to tensions between North Korea and the U.S. That has also been a factor in the price of gold jumping.

A number of investors see gold continuing to rise over the next several months.

Similarly, Phil Streible, senior market strategist at Chicago-based RJO Futures, told CNBC that gold will likely rise to $1,400 per ounce.

Looking over to silver, the white metal touched a four-and-a-half-month high this week, trading above $18 per ounce.

Palladium was up 0.6 percent on Friday, trading at $961 per ounce, while platinum was up 0.3 percent, at $1,018 per ounce. Market participants are now wondering if prices will break $7,000 per ton.

Lastly, spot oil edged lower on Friday as domestic refineries saw a slow recovery from flooding after Hurricane Harvey.

Platinum, Palladium (PPLT) (PALL) (PGM) (PTM) (PTD) Close Week Up

Platinum and palladium prices closed Friday on a high, after a down week overall, with ETFS Physical Platinum Shares (NYSE:PPLT), ETFS Physical Palladium Shares (NYSE:PALL), iPath Dow Jones-AIG Platinum ETN (NYSE:PGM), UBS E-TRACS Long Platinum TR ETN (NYSE:PTM) and UBS E-TRACS Short Platinum ER ETN (NYSE:PTD) all closing up on Friday, with the exeption of UBS E-TRACS Short Platinum ER ETN, which closed level with Thursday's close.

Palladium futures for June delivery climbed $5.50, or 0.8 percent, to $716.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This week, the metal dropped 9.6 percent, the most since July.

Platinum futures for July delivery rose $8.20, or 0.5 percent, to $1,786.40 an ounce. This week, the price dropped 4.2 percent, the most since November.

ETFS Physical Platinum Shares (NYSE:PPLT) closed Friday at $176.66, gaining $2.26, or 1.30 percent.

Hecla (HL) (SSRI) (FVITF) (EXK) Close Up as Silver Prices Rise

Even though Gold and silver prices were up only slightly Wednesday, silver companies like Silver Standard Resources (SSRI), Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL), Fortuna (OTC:FVITF.PK) and Endeavour Silver (AMEX:EXK) were able to finish with a gain, even as most base metals fell in price.

On Wednesday gold prices closed at $1455.60 an ounce. The Silver price for the May contract was higher by .43 percent at 40.24 an ounce.

The collapsing U.S. dollar continues to be a big factor with gold and silver prices, although it gained in strength near the end of trading Wednesday. Other elements are tightening in China, sovereign debt crisis in Europe, unrest in the Middle East, deepening food and fuel inflation and the consequences of the Japanese earthquake in the auto and tech sectors, among others.

July platinum added $2.90 to $1,777.20 a troy ounce, but June palladium fell $4.80 to $765.30 a troy ounce.

Among base metals, May copper was down 9 cents to $4.30 a pound in New York trade, while three-month contracts were $115 lower to $9,515 a ton on the London Metal Exchange after stockpiles in LME-monitored warehouses added another 3,225 tons throughout the day.

Tin was also down in London trade, falling $300 to $32,250 a ton, while nickel dropped $450 to $26,250 a ton.

Silver Standard Resources closed Wednesday at $33.72, gaining $0.30, or 0.90 percent. Hecla Mining closed at $9.19, up $0.21, or 2.34 percent. Fortuna closed at $6.15, rising $0.18, or 3.02 percent. Endeavour Silver ended the session at $11.17, jumping $0.27, or 2.48 percent.

Societe Generale Says Palladium Prices Overbought, Buy on Dip

The rise in palladium prices will undergo a correction says Societe Generale, and are overbought at this time. When the correction comes, they recommend buying the dip.

So far in 2010 palladium has soared by 89 percent, generating the idea of the probability of a correction sometime soon.

This is being viewed in the short term, and with supply not able to keep up with growing demand, it will be temporary. Any time a weakness in the metal comes about, investors are encouraged to buy at that time.

ETFS Physical Palladium Shares (NYSE:PALL) closed Tuesday at $72.79, down $2.82, or 3.73 percent.