Yellow metal ends lower despite striking another new record

Prices end mixed as silver adds little shine

Precious metal prices ended mixed on Wednesday, 14 October, 2009. Gold ended marginally lower at the end after hitting another record high. Silver managed to end marginally higher. Investors continued to mull over the fact today that recent rally in stocks is overdone.

Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies and also vice versa.

On Wednesday, gold for December delivery ended at $1,064.7, lower by $0.30 (0.02%) an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. During intra day trading, gold price rose to a high of $1,072. Last week, gold ended higher by 4.3%. Year to date, gold prices are higher by 19.8%.

Gold ended September, 2009 higher by 5.9%. For the third quarter it ended higher by 8.7%. Before this, for the second quarter, gold ended higher by 0.5%. The metal had gained 4.3% in the first quarter of this year.

On Wednesday, Comex silver futures ended marginally higher by 5.5 cents (0.3%) at $17.895 an ounce. Last week, silver ended higher by 8.9%.

Silver ended 11.8% higher for September, 2009. Year to date, silver has climbed 58.5% this year. For 2008, silver had lost 24%.

In the currency market on Wednesday, the dollar fell against most of its rivals. The euro climbed up substantially today. The dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, fell to fourteen month low figure once again.

In the crude market today, crude oil surpassed $75 after a long time and reached the highest level in a year's time.

In 2008, gold prices ended higher by 5.5%. The dollar index had gained 12% that year.

At the MCX, gold prices for December delivery closed lower by Rs 115 (0.7%) at Rs 15,921 per 10 grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 16,034 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 15,860 per 10 grams during the day's trading.

At the MCX, silver prices for December delivery closed Rs 123 (0.44%) lower at Rs 27,375/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 27,550/kg and fell to a low of Rs 27,240/Kg during the day's trading.