Global surge spurs home rally

MARKET REVIEW/ DOMESTIC - BULLION

The prices of gold and silver saw a remarkable rally in the domestic market, shadowing the trend in the global bullion trade. Gold rose by over $12 in New York, on the back of rising crude prices which tested the $50 a barrel level.

In the domestic market, both precious metals saw buying from stockists, as well as industrial users and the jewellery sector ahead of the Dushera-Diwali festival season.

The spot London gold fix rose from last week's $407.90 (PM) to close at $ 418.10 on Friday. The benchmark December futures contract on the Comex in New York traded higher and closed at $421.20 on Friday.

The bullion market remained closed on October 2, on the occasion of 'Gandhi Jayanthi'.

During the week ended October 1, spot gold (99.50 purity) in Mumbai closed higher from last week's close of Rs 6195 at Rs 6330 on Friday per 10 gram.

Spot gold (99.90 purity) closed at Rs 6365 on Friday from last week's Rs 6230. Spot silver (.999) closed sharply higher from last week's close of Rs 10440 to end at Rs 11025 per kilogram.

The futures market showed robust gains during the week as well with rising prices.

On the National Commodity Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), the October gold contract ended on Friday at Rs 6272 from Rs 6167 last week. The volumes were 205800 gram. Open interest stood at 528700 gram.

The November contract increased to Rs 6261.00 from Rs 6161.00, with open positions worth 145500 gram and a volume of contract of 48400 gram.

The December contract closed higher at Rs 6264 compared with last week's close of Rs 6164, with an open interest and volume of 36800 gram and 8800 gram respectively.

The pure gold (kilo) October contract ended at Rs 6210 from Rs 6150 last week. The exchange has also launched new 'Sona' and 'Chandi' contracts on September 29, that expire on the seventh of every month.

NCDEX October silver futures closed at Rs 10747 with an open interest of 66310. The price rose from last week's Rs 10228.

The November contract closed at Rs 10748 compared with Rs 10264 last week. The open interest closed at 19250 kilogram while the volume of contract stood at 15720.

The December silver contract closed at Rs 10742 compared with Rs 10259 last week, with an open interest of 5700 and volume of 4120.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), the December gold (high net worth individuals) contract closed at Rs 6175 on Friday after opening at Rs 6147 on Monday. The open interest stood at 24 kg with 3 kg volumes.

The gold mini contract for October closed at Rs 6311 from Rs 6146 with an open interest of 15 kg and a volume of 18 kg while the December contract closed at Rs 6263 from Rs 6133 with 58 kg open positions and 25 kg volumes.

The December 3 silver contract closed higher again at Rs 10742 on Friday from Rs 10220 last week.

The open positions stood at 116640 kg and the volume of contract was 163140 kg.

The March 2005 contract traded from Tuesday at Rs 10285 to Rs 10688 (on Thursday) with 450kg positions open, and a volume of 630kg.