Silver, gold head north on firm global advice

Mumbai, Aug 23 (UNI) Both the precious metals today closed higher with silver rising by Rs 140 per kg and pure gold by Rs 80 per ten gm on lack of offers from stockists and bullish advice from global and upcountry markets, traders at the Bombay Bullion Exchange said.

Silver (fineness) .999 opened higher at Rs 16,845 per kg on fresh buying support, mainly from industrial users. Later, it rose further and closed positive at Rs 16,955 per kg with a big gain of Rs 140 from its previous close.

Local buyers were active in view of the forthcoming festival season and owing to encouraging advice from London and Asian markets.

In London, New York and Asian markets, silver rose to USD 11.85/11.95 per troy ounce compared to its last close of 11.70/11.75 per troy ounce.

Similarly, standard gold (99.5) and pure gold (99.9) also opened high at Rs 8,795 and Rs 8,845 per ten gm respectively on lack of offers from local dealers.

Later, the yellow metals rallied again and closed firm at Rs 8,845 for standard mint and Rs 8,895 for pure gold per ten gm, with a massive gain of Rs 80 each from their last close.

Traders pointed out that there was fresh ornament makers demand in view of forthcoming Hindu festival season and also bullish advice from global and upcountry markets. Sellers reserved their stocks because of lesser stocks at the domestic markets.

In London and elsewhere, the yellow metal was firm at USD 662/668 per troy ounce compared to USD 652/658, traders added.

Following are the spot silver and gold closing prices: Silver (per kg) .999 grade : Rs 16,955 (16,815) Gold (per 10 gm): Standard mint 99.5 purity : Rs 8,845 (8,765) Pure gold 99.9 purity : Rs 8,895 (8,815) UNI