Kamal Ghorui
Rising geopolitical tensions and renewed safe-haven buying pushed precious metals sharply higher on Thursday, sending silver soaring in the domestic market while gold extended its upward momentum.Silver prices in the national capital surged by Rs 18,000, or 7.32 per cent, to Rs 2,64,000 per kg (inclusive of all taxes), according to local marketmen, PTI reported. The white metal had closed at Rs 2,46,000 per kg on Wednesday.Gold of 99.9 per cent purity also advanced, gaining Rs 1,950, or 1.24 per cent, to Rs 1,58,650 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes), compared with Rs 1,56,700 per 10 grams in the previous session.Firm global trends supported the rally. In overseas markets, spot silver traded 1.03 per cent higher at $77.97 per ounce, while gold hovered marginally higher at $4,991.24 per ounce.“Gold prices rose to around $5,000 per ounce on Thursday, supported by a renewed wave of safe-haven demand amid rising speculation over potential US military action against Iran, which has elevated geopolitical risk,” Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst – Commodities at HDFC Securities, said.He added that stalled Russia-Ukraine negotiations have added to global uncertainty, encouraging investors to shift allocations toward defensive assets. “With geopolitical flashpoints intensifying, capital is rotating out of risk-sensitive assets and into traditional safe-haven assets, providing sustained support to gold prices,” Gandhi said.Renisha Chainani, Head – Research at Augmont, said investors are now watching key macroeconomic triggers, including US GDP data and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation numbers, which may shape the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook in the coming months.
