Silver soars 1.47% to settle at Rs 66,149 per kg on MCX, up 0.62% for the week

Silver prices soared to Rs 66,149 per kg on August 28 as participants increased their long positions as seen by the open interest. The precious metal had gained Rs 407, or 0.62 percent, for the week on the MCX.

The white metal gained after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that it would allow higher 2 percent inflation.

Silver prices were supported by improved demand outlook for industrial metal and weakness in the US dollar index.

Silver holdings in iShares ETF rose by 28.96 tonnes to 17,791.37 tonnes.

In the futures market, silver for September delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 66,666 and a low of Rs 65,268 per kg on the MCX. So far in the current series, the precious metal has touched a low of Rs 41,558 and a high of Rs 77,949.

Silver delivery for September contract jumped Rs 959, or 1.47 percent, to settle at Rs 66,149 per kg with a business turnover of 5,732 lots. The same for the December contract gained Rs 913, or 1.34 percent, to Rs 68,842 per kg with a turnover of 13,722 lots.

The value of September and October’s contracts traded during the day was Rs 4,043.95 crore and Rs 3,017.06 crore, respectively.

The spot gold/silver ratio currently stands at 71.46 to 1, which means the amount of silver required to buy one ounce of gold.

The precious metal settled with a gain of 2.11 percent quoting at $27.59 an ounce in New York.