Silver, gold hits lifetime highs on weak dollar
Silver, gold hits lifetime highs on weak dollar
New Delhi: Gold and silver prices rallied on Friday to hit fresh lifetime highs in the futures trade, tracking record gains in international markets amid a weakening US dollar and rising expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), the March contract of silver soared by Rs 12,638, or nearly 4 per cent, to scale a new peak of Rs 3,39,927 per kg. Silver futures in the previous session on Wednesday had touched a record high of Rs 3,35,521 per kg.
Gold also scaled a fresh lifetime high, advancing for the fifth straight day. The yellow metal for February delivery jumped by Rs 2,885, or 1.84 per cent, to Rs 1,59,226 per 10 grams on the MCX. It had settled at Rs 1,56,341 per 10 grams on Thursday.
“Gold’s surge to record highs on the MCX reflects a powerful convergence of global risk factors and macroeconomic tailwinds,” Rahul Gupta, Chief Business Officer – Ashika Group, said. Gupta attributed the rally to heightened geopolitical tensions and persistent geoeconomic uncertainty, which have reignited safe-haven demand.
He added that the weakening US dollar has further improved bullion’s sentiment among global investors. Market participants are increasingly pricing in the likelihood of rate cuts by the US Fed, which has further reduced the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as gold, he added.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.31. Silver crosses USD 99 an ounce mark, gold nears USD 5,000 level in global markets. In the international markets, both gold and silver futures scaled historic levels, with the white metal crossing the USD 99 per-ounce-mark for the first time on the Comex.
Silver futures for March delivery gained USD 3.02, or 3.14 per cent, to hit a new peak of USD 99.39 per ounce in the overseas trade on Friday. Comex gold futures for the February contract also increased by USD 56.6, or 1.15 per cent, to a record of USD 4,970 per ounce.
