LME gold rises above $1,400 an oz for the first time in nearly 7 weeks.
Silver breached the psychological barrier of Rs 50,000 per kg today in spot trade in Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazar. After recording an all-time high, mild profit booking pushed back the milky precious metal to close at Rs 49,955 a kg.
The metal gained 3.74 per cent or Rs 1,975 from the previous day’s close at Rs 47,980 a kg.
Standard gold shot up by Rs 165 to close at Rs 20,595 per 10 gm during today’s trade. Traders believe retail consumers have been driven out of the market due to high prices and are waiting for a correction to take a decision ahead of the wedding season in India.
“Prices are rising primarily due to geopolitical condition in West Asia with more and more small countries in the region going the Turkey way. Hence, prices are looking up currently to surpass the Rs 51,000 a kg mark for silver in a day or two. But, a correction is imminent to pull the metal down at Rs 46,000 a kg in the near future, said Suresh Hundia, owner of Hundia Exports, one of India’s largest importers of silver.
Gold prices in the global market rose above $1,400 an oz for the first time in nearly seven weeks due to tensions across North Africa and West Asia. Spot gold rose to $1,400.40 an oz and was bid at $1,399.60 an oz in early afternoon trade against $1,388.58 late in New York on Friday. US gold futures for April delivery rose $11.70 an oz to $1,400.30 an oz, having peaked at $1,401.30 an oz.
In euro term, however, gold prices recorded a high since January 19 at 1,023.91 euros an ounce, and sterling-priced gold recorded the highest since January 14 at 863.54 pounds an ounce. Holdings of the world’s largest gold exchange-traded fund, New York’s SPDR Gold Trust, fell to a nine-month low on Friday at 1,223.098 tonnes, even as prices rallied.
Silver hit a high of $33.46 but later settled for $33.36 an ounce against $32.46 an oz.
Meanwhile, oil prices surged nearly $3 a barrel to a two-and-ahalf-year high as traders eyed unrest in Libya, a major producer of the commodity.
Gold for delivery in April 2011 on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) rose 0.72 per cent to Rs 20,696 per 10 gm in early evening trade.
