Gold spikes to 11-month high on Korean worries

New Delhi: Amid growing geopolitical worries over North Korea and in anticipation of festive demand, gold  price in India has hit 11- month high. In Mumbai, standard gold (99.5 purity) rose by Rs 235 to end at Rs 30,360 per 10 grams against Thursday’s closing level of Rs 30,125. The level has not been seen since November 11, 2016.

In Delhi, the yellow metal spiralled by Rs 990 to end at Rs 31,350 per 10 grams — a 10-month high in the national capital. However, demand from jewellers remained low in view of the ongoing inauspicious fortnight of Shradh. “Supplies are sufficient but demand is very weak. Prices need to come down to attract buyers,” said Ashok Jain, proprietor of Mumbai-based wholesaler Chenaji Narsinghji.

“In the last few weeks, demand has been weak, but still, trading houses aggressively imported gold. As prices have moved up, importers can sell at (a) discount,” said a Mumbai-based dealer with a private bank. Pure gold (99.9 purity) also jumped by the same amount to settle at Rs 30,510 per 10 grams from Rs 30,275 earlier.

Bullion traders said sentiment got a boost after gold rallied to one-year high in global market as the dollar fell to its weakest level since 2015 in the backdrop of warnings that Hurricane Irma could have devastating impact on the US amid weaker-than-expected jobs data. Besides, simmering tension between North Korea and the US added to the uptrend. Globally, the yellow metal surged 0.31 per cent to $1,352.80 an ounce, its highest since September 2016 in Singapore on Friday.