Gold, silver glitter at all-time high

Yellow Metal At Rs 18,220, Silver At Rs 30,140 New Delhi: The dream run of gold and silver is continuing. Price of gold closed above Rs 18,000 per 10 gram on Wednesday in Indian markets, after crossing $1200 per ounce in the international market on Tuesday.      In the Mumbai market, standard gold price closed at record Rs 18,220. In Delhi, price of pure gold (99.9 purity) spurted by Rs 270 per 10 gram to close at Rs 18,310. Price of silver ready (.999 fineness) rose by Rs 690 per kilo to Rs 30,140 as against Rs 29,450 on Tuesday.      At the same time, price of silver has also crossed Rs 30,000 per kg —an all- time high— on Wednesday. Despite rising prices, bullion traders said, there is a good demand from investors as they expect prices to rise further. A senior merchant banker said the apprehension over weakening of dollar and fresh demand from central banks world over are adding shine to the precious metals.      The gold price in the international market is quoting at a record high of $1212 per ounce. Silver has also touched an all-time high of $19 per ounce. In the developed markets like Japan, Europe and the US, large funds are investing in gold in the expectation of further increase in prices.      The expectation of price rise got further credence from the decision of RBI and Sri Lankan central bank to buy gold from IMF. RBI's decision to buy 200 tonnes of gold in the second fortnight of October at an average price of $1,045 per ounce has made it richer by $1.07 billion.      Investors have taken it as a trend. If more central banks buy gold to diversify their reserve portfolio, prices of the yellow metal will move up further. In the last one year, investment in gold has yielded a return of around 35%, which is very attractive, considering most of the other assets have depreciated in the last one year. On Wednesday, investment interest in gold remained firm, with SPDR Gold Trust's holdings, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose further. However, with rising prices, interest of retail buyers declined in gold. A bullion merchant said sales of gold ornaments and jewellery have reduced significantly.      However, some analysts cautioned that if price continues to rise, the central banks might start selling the yellow metal, leading to sharp fall in prices. So, small investors should not invest their large part of savings in gold.