Silver nears Rs 1.8 lakh/kg, gold closes in on Rs 1.3 lakh/10gm

MUMBAI: Bullion markets in India and abroad continued to see hectic activity as prices of gold and silver rose to record levels in both markets. As jitters are being felt across markets, especially due to shortage of supply of the white metal, Tata MF temporarily suspended inflows into its silver ETF fund of fund (FoF). And outside of India, Bank of America raised its target for gold to $5,000/ounce, a rise of nearly 25% from current levels and $65/oz for silver, a 30% appreciation.

The global supply crunch has hit the silver market at a time when the demand for the metal, used in industries like solar and EVs, is rising. In addition, rate cuts in the US, which is making the dollar cheaper against major currencies are also leading to higher demand for silver and gold.

In international markets, since these metals are priced in dollar, a weaker greenback would translate to fall in prices of these two precious metals, leading to higher demand. In the domestic market, silver prices hovered close to the Rs 1.8 lakh/kg level, a new all-time peak, while gold traded at close to Rs 1.3 lakh/10gm level. Late on Monday, on MCX, the futures prices for gold for Dec delivery was at close to Rs 1.25 lakh while silver futures for Dec delivery was trading at close to Rs 1.55 lakh level.

During the day, Tata MF suspended purchases, switchins, fresh SIPs etc into its Silver ETF FoF, effective Oct 14. Tata MF is the fourth fund to take this step to protect investors’ interest. Kotak MF was the first one, followed by SBIMF and UTIMF to take such a decision for their silver ETF FoF.