Kamal Ghorui
Mumbai: The unabated rally in gold and silver prices continued on Wednesday with the domestic prices of both the precious metals breaking above record high levels. Gold prices in the domestic bullion markets traded around the Rs 1.7 lakh/10gm level while prices of silver hovered around the Rs 3.7 lakh/kg mark. And on the MCX, gold futures contracts for Feb delivery hit an all-time high at Rs 1.65 lakh while silver futures for March delivery hit a new life-high at Rs 3.87 lakh.The rally in the two precious metals came on the back of a rally in international prices due to the weakness of the dollar in early trades. In late trades the prices of these two metals were further boosted by the US president Donald Trump’s social media post that a large US navy fleet was on its way to West Asia, aimed at threatening Iran into the negotiation table for nuclear disarmament.In late trades, gold prices had crossed the $5,300/ounce (Oz) level while silver prices were trading at $113/Oz. Both were trading marginally below their all-time high prices.Market players said that geopolitical uncertainties and the weakness of the dollar were the main reasons for the sharp uptick in the prices of the two precious metals. For silver, increasing demand from fast-growing industries like EV, semiconductors, solar and smart grids were the added price-drivers.
