Gold a tad dull, silver shimmers

INTERNATIONAL/ BULLION: MARKET REVIEW

Gold prices in the international markets remained subdued for the second week in a row, continuing on the better-than-expected trade deficit which has kept the dollar buoyant.

This saw more liquidation on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex. The benchmark June gold closed at $420.20 per troy ounce. The spot London gold fix too closed the week at $418 (PM).

In the local market, during the week ended May 21 gold lost ground, while silver seemed to step up its performance. Spot gold (99.50 purity) in Mumbai closed at Rs 6,000 per 10 gm as against Rs 6,005 last week.

Spot gold (99.90 purity) closed at Rs 6,040 with no change from the previous week. Spot silver (.999) closed lower at Rs 10,710 from last week's Rs 10,555 per kg.

Futures trading in the weekly prices saw a dip in gold, with stagnant open interest and volumes.

Silver, however, picked up. On the National Commodity Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), the May gold closed lower at Rs 6,018 compared with last week's close of Rs 6,029. Open interest and volume were at 216,600 gm and 420,400 gm, respectively.

The June gold contract closed at Rs 6,074 from Rs 6,089 with an open interest and volume of 847,600 gm and 207,900 gm, respectively. Silver contract in May on NCDEX closed at Rs 10,509 compared with Rs 10,384 last week. The open interest closed at 14,730 kg, while the volume of contract stood at 36,645.

The June contract closed at Rs 10,587, up from Rs 10,453 last week, with an open interest of 99,565 and a volume of 34,030.

On the Multi-Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), the May 31 contract closed at Rs 6,070 down from Rs 6,086 last Saturday. Open interest was at 1,813 kg and a volume of 359 kg.

The August contract closed at Rs 6,001 from Rs 6,014 with an open interest of 7,560 kg and a volume of 697 kg.

The June Gold HNI (high net worth individual) contract closed at Rs 5,878 from Monday's Rs 5,921, with an open interest of 9 kg and no volumes.

HNI Silver May closed at Rs 9,993 from Rs 9,781 last week, with an open interest of 11850 kg.

The July 5 silver contract rose to close at Rs 10,573 from Rs 10,428 last week. The open positions stood at 246,300 kg and the volume of contract was 78,750 kg.

The September contract of silver closed at Rs 10,640 up from Rs 10,496 last week with an open interest of 8,580 kg and a volume of 960 kg.