Yellow metal ends marginally lower but silver shines
Bullion metal prices ended mixed on Tuesday, 15 December, 2009.
Gold prices registered marginal losses but silver went up. Speculation
in the market that the Federal Reserve might withdraw back some of the
liquidity that it has pumped in recent times gave a boost to the
dollar.
Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for
dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which
become more expensive for holders of other currencies and also vice
versa.
On Tuesday, gold for December delivery ended at $1,123 an
ounce, lower by $0.80 (0.07%) an ounce on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. Last week, gold shed 4.2%.
Gold ended November, 2009 higher by 13%. Before that, for the
third quarter it ended higher by 8.7%. For the second quarter, gold
ended higher by 0.5%. The metal had gained 4.3% in the first quarter of
this year. On a year to date basis, gold price is higher by 27.5%.
On Tuesday, December Comex silver futures ended higher by 11
cents (0.6%) at $17.45 an ounce. Last week, silver ended lower by 7.6%.
In the currency market on Tuesday, the dollar index, which
weighs the strength of dollar against a basket of six other currencies
rose by almost 0.8%.
In 2008, gold prices ended higher by 5.5%. The dollar index had gained 12% that year.
At the MCX, gold prices for February delivery closed higher by
Rs 16 (0.09%) at Rs 17,041 per ten grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs
17,108 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 16,885 per 10 grams during
the day's trading.
At the MCX, silver prices for March delivery closed Rs 95
(0.34%) higher at Rs 27,318/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 27,305/kg and rose
to a high of Rs 27,398/Kg during the day's trading.