Gold breaches Rs 9,000-mark, silver jumps Rs 515 in city

MUMBAI: Gold continued to glitter for a straight third session on Thursday across the board as firm international trend boosted speculative buying.

However as usual physical buyers refrained from purchases due to high prices. In domestic market, standard gold again crossed the psychological barrier of Rs 9,000, its best since June 13. However, the day belonged to silver as its prices shot up between Rs 630 and Rs 350 per kg. “A fresh buying spree from industrial users and jewellery fabricators have pushed up prices,” a local bullion dealer said.

In overseas market, spot gold jumped to $594.8 an ounce in early trade on sustained fund buying. But later it trimmed early gains as the dollar recovered lost ground against the euro. Consequently, investors took profits. But the market struggled to get clear direction in the short term, with dealers awaiting the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting meeting on June 28-29 and keeping an eye on US equities and currency markets, agency report said quoting analysts as saying.

Back home, Kolkata again bagged the top slot, where standard variety (99.5) shot up by another Rs 265 at Rs 9,015 per 10 gm. In Mumbai, the metal rose to Rs 8,845, after adding Rs 245 in a single day. Thus the metal had gained Rs 350 since June 20. In Delhi, the metal edged up by another Rs 240 at Rs 8,990, followed by Chennai, where it gained Rs 180 to close at Rs 8,950 per 10 gm.

In London, gold for immediate delivery rose a high of $594.80 an ounce, up from $589.20/589.90 in New York on Wednesday. By afternoon, it slipped to $587.7, losing ground to dollar.

Turning to silver, Chennai glittered the most, where spot variety (.999) shot up to Rs 16,775, revealing a whooping gain of Rs 630 in a single day. In Mumbai, the metal soared to Rs 16,400, up Rs 515 as against Rs 15,885 previously. In Kolkata, it edged higher by Rs 500 at Rs 16,100 followed by Delhi, where spot silver rose by Rs 350 at Rs 16,250 per kg.