The Hindu Business Line : Gold, silver gain on bullish global trend

Advertisement

Mumbai Feb. 9 Gold and silver prices rose in the domestic spot and futures markets after tracking bullish international mood in precious metals.

Spot gold was quoted at Rs 9,430/10 gm .999 fineness (up by Rs 110), while silver was quoted at Rs 20,200 kg (up by Rs 200) in Mumbai on Friday.

Gold and silver on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India traded over Rs 9,500 per 10 gm and Rs 20,000 respectively on the futures exchange on Thursday.

Gold traded over $660 /oz on COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday, while silver traded over $13.50 /oz.

The precious metals prices went up on cues from international developments, with rising crude oil market being the main driver.

Crude oil prices managed to rise a tad above $60 / barrel, before declining to $59.40, unable to sustain the minor gain. This was mainly because of short covering (buying to square off prior sell positions) in the international markets as against fresh buying, said an analyst.

Gold, analysts said, has lost its co-relation with the dollar, as the metal gained on Thursday despite a firmer dollar. Gold generally moves in the opposite direction of the dollar. Ahead of the G7 meeting, there is not much movement expected in the dollar, according to analysts.

The Bank of England and the European Central Bank both kept their interest rates unchanged at 5.25 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively. The precious metals market took this development positively as inflation, which still remains a matter of concern, may have still left room for these banks to raise interest rates in the next session.

There were also reports of fire in one of the oil fields in California that supported the rise in oil prices, which were however not sustained later.