Trading in white metal on Monday opened at 10 am with an eight per cent gap down. According to commodity dealers, the MCX and the NCDEX applied three downward circuit breakers at 4 per cent, 6 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively, till 6.30 pm. It is the highest so far in terms of numbers, to calm the silver market.

Mr Gopal Goel, head of the dealing room at CD Commoseach, said silver opened at Rs 71,111 a kg, hit a session's low of Rs 64,963 a kg. “But once the US commodity exchanges opened, prices began to bounce back. At 7.40 pm, the price ruled at Rs 68,700 with buyers lining up to purchase 25,000 kg of silver on the MCX alone, dealers said. Trading will close at 11.30 pm.

Last week on Wednesday, after witnessing huge volatility, the two exchanges raised the margin from 5 per cent to 8.7 per cent.

The speculative binge had been taking the white metal to a dizzy height till April 21 when volatility begun to emerge, traders told Business Line .

But, according to analysts, the current downward correction in silver price is a global phenomenon as the price spiral was, in the past months.

Monday's fall down, according to a global investment banker, marks a turning point in white metal's extraordinary run. Silver price internationally has more than doubled in the past six months on intense bets.

“Higher industrial demand and a cheap safe-haven alternative to gold had been put forward as argument by the traders. But it was actually speculative demand that had been driving the silver market,” said the owner of a commodities broking firm, which trades on both the MCX and the NCDEX.

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