Equity scare drives buying

DOMESTIC REVIEW/ BULLION

The domestic bullion market saw steady price gains during the week, in line with global markets as the dollar dipped.

The disappointment over the common minimum programme (CMP) of the central government announced towards the end of the week also led to bullion buying after the equity markets crashed.

During the week ended May 28, spot gold (99.50 purity) closed higher from last week's close of Rs 5730 at Rs 5865 per 10 gram. Spot gold (99.90 purity) rose from Rs 5775 to Rs 5905.

Spot silver (.999) also regained its sheen closing at Rs 9900 from last week's Rs 9430 per kilogram.

On the National Commodity Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), the June contract rose to Rs 5781.15 from previous week's closing of Rs 5689 with open positions at 4,09,400. Volumes rose to 1,48,000 gram.

July gold contract gained to touch Rs 5797.60 from Rs 5708.40. Volume was up at 37400 gram. Open interest rose from 58700 gram to 76,900 gram.

The pure gold (kilo) June contract closed at Rs 5778 from Rs 5680, with an open interest of just 285 kg and a volume of 18 kg.

The volumes of NCDEX June silver futures volumes rose from 420 kg to 7540 kg while open interest increased from 19450 kg to 20585 kg. The price rose to 9517.50. July silver futures volumes rose from 75 kg to 2040 kg while open interest increased from 5365 kg to 6235 kg. The price rose to 9516.30 from Rs 9245.95.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) June gold delivery rose to Rs 5803 from Rs 5701 amid an open interest of 330 gram with a volume of 330 gram.

The August contract however rose to Rs 5844 from last week's Rs 5759.

April mini gold on MCX rose to Rs 5802 as against previous week's close of Rs 5709. There was a rise in volume of contracts from 22 gram to 45 gram, and open interest fell to 23 gram from 81 gram.

The July silver contract closed up at Rs 9535 compared to the previous week's close of Rs 9184. The volume of contract rose to 22,480 kg from 21,120 kg, the open interest was 15210 kg.

The September silver contract closed higher at Rs 9553 on Friday from Rs 9253 last week. The open stood at 1380 kg and the volume of contract was 420 kg.