Prices of gold surged on Wednesday on the Indian futures market MCX, following the rise in bullion and crude prices in the international market due to deepening military tensions between the US and Iran.
According to IBJA, Gold on MCX gains towards lifetime high of 41278.00 as investors flocked to safe havens, after Iran launched retaliatory missile strikes against U.S. forces in Iraq.
Gold in India's largest futures market, Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), was trading at Rs 41,193 per 10 grams at 9.30 a.m. on the February expiry contract, an increase of Rs 530 or 1.30 per cent as compared to the previous price of Rs 40,946 per 10 gms that later jumped to Rs 41,278 per 10 grams.
Silver was trading at Rs 48,661 per kg, up by Rs 550 or 1.15 per cent, from the previous session of the March contract. At the same time, in the January contract, the crude oil was trading at Rs 4,572 per barrel, up by Rs 78, or 1.74 per cent from the previous session.
Bullion has gained momentum in the international market due to deepening military tension between the US and Iran. In the international market, the price of gold crossed $1,600 an ounce on Wednesday which is a seven-year high. On Wednesday, gold on the international futures market COMEX was trading at $1,591.35 an ounce with a gain of $17.05 or 1.08 per cent in the February contract, while gold traded up on Comex to $1,612.95 per ounce during the previous trading, which is the highest after February 2013. On February 19, 2013 the gold rose to $1,617 an ounce.
The rise in gold prices is seen as a safe haven investment in the wake of geo-political tension in the Middle East. On Wednesday, 10 rockets were fired at the Iraq-based Al Assad airbase, which has a large number of US troops, according to the Efe news. The attack comes after Iran's commander General Qasem Suleimani died on January 3 in a US drone strike, which is seen as a retaliation by Iran.
(Inputs from IANS)
