Gold price trading near record high; silver scales Rs 73K mark

Gold price in India continued its upside trend and traded near record highs on Thursday, tracking positive global cues from the international commodity market, as surging coronavirus cases cast a shadow on global economic recovery. Weakness in the dollar also drove investors to the safe-haven asset.

Supported by upbeat safe-haven demand, Gold August futures on Multi Commodity Exchange were trading higher by Rs 196 at Rs 55,294 per 10 gm against the previous close of Rs 55,098 per 10 gm. Today gold futures touched an intrady high of Rs 55,340 per 10 gm. In the previous session, Gold August Futures touched an all-time high of Rs 55,597 per 10 gm.

Silver September futures was trading Rs 2,301 higher at Rs 74,194 per kg today, after hitting a lifetime high of Rs 74,411 earlier in today's session.

Gold prices have surged 35% this year, hitting a record high in India. Escalating tensions between the US and China, expectations of more stimulus measures on hold, a weak US dollar and rise in cases of coronavirus infections across the globe have kept demand for gold high.

Gold price scales all-time high; overseas rate crosses $2,000 mark

Global markets

Overseas, gold price steadied today after hitting a record high in the previous session and surpassing the $2K mark resistance.

Comex gold was trading flat at $2,031 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of 2,050.20 in the previous session. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $2,042.14 per ounce after hitting an all-time high of $2,055.10 in previous session, while US gold futures rose 0.4% to $2,056.60.

Retail gold rate in India

24-carat gold prices in the national capital rose to Rs 53,710 per 10 gram. The price of 24-carat gold stood at Rs 57,830 per 10 gram in Chennai. In Mumbai, the rate was Rs 54,410 for 24-Carat gold, as per Good Returns website.

Valuation

Prathamesh Mallya, AVP- Research, Non-Agri Commodities and Currencies, Angel Broking said," Gold has been really precious for investors in 2020 with an astounding double-digit return of 34% YTD in dollar terms and still continues its shine. The liquidity push by Central Banks across the globe has been a deciding factor for premium in gold prices as the pandemic continues to ravage the global economy. The easy money policy is resulting into chasing higher yields on asset classes which are considered to be safe in times of uncertainty, and nothing like gold, the safe-haven asset which has historically been a go-to investment for investors. Unless global economy starts its recovery path, precious metals will continue to shine for the rest of 2020."

On Silver, he added, "Silver prices will eventually move higher towards $27.5 per ounce in the international market and Rs.75000 per kg in the domestic markets, taking into consideration the recent momentum in the metal."

The rise in price of the precious metal to record levels has led to a fall in India's gold imports by 24% in July.

Precious metal prices have been surging to fresh record highs in domestic as well as international commodity markets, amid intensifying economic concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In India, coronavirus cases neared 19.64 lakh with total deaths standing at 40,739. Worldwide, there are 189 lakh confirmed cases and 7.1 lakh deaths from the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak.

Amid lesser participation of investors in broader equity indices, and more inclination towards precious commodities, many market analysts have turned bullish for the metal in the coming week.

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