Silver futures on India’s Multi Commodity Exchange managed to settle with modest gains on Friday, after plunging around 10% from day’s highs.
The devil’s metal had surged to a record Rs 1,70,415 per kg earlier in the session on MCX, but slipped sharply towards the end to hit an intraday low of Rs 1,53,700.
In the final hour of trade, however, it rebounded slightly to close at Rs 1,57,300, still up 0.44% from the preceding day’s close.
The decline in MCX silver followed a slump in global prices, as US spot silver fell nearly 6% to trade at $50.96 an ounce, as of 1:09 p.m. (local time) in New York.
The pullback followed easing concerns over US credit quality and trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, which reduced safe-haven demand for precious metals. Meanwhile, signs that the historic silver squeeze in the London market showed signs of easing also led to profit-taking among investors.
“The London shortage is alleviating somewhat from extreme levels and the more regional dislocations smooth out, there could be pressure and profit-taking,” Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at MKS Pamp SA told Bloomberg.
Apart from silver, US spot gold was down 3% at $4,186.4 an ounce. The yellow metal’s futures on MCX fell to Rs 1,25,957 per 10 gram, down nearly 5% from its day’s high of Rs 1,32,294. However, it ended the session with 0.25% gains.
