Silver Futures Gains On Firm Spot Demand; Crude Oil Dips 0.34%

Silver prices rose to Rs 66,990 per kg as participants expanded their long positions, as evidenced by the open interest on April 8. After a gap-down start in the afternoon session, the Silver turns positive, tracking gains in gold and industrial metals amid dollar weakness.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, silver contracts for May delivery gained Rs 716, or 1.07 per cent, to Rs 67,399per kg. The current spot gold/silver ratio is 69.11 to 1, implying that silver has outperformed gold. Also, the Silver Mini contract for April jumped Rs 627, or 0.94% to touch Rs 67,298 per kg

In afternoon trade against the major cross, the US dollar index was slightly lower at 92.37, down 0.10%.

Crude oil fell due to rising gasoline inventories in the United States and concerns that a coronavirus outbreak would impede a global recovery in fuel demand. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 3.52 million barrel drop in crude oil inventories for the week ending April 2, compared to a 1.43 million barrel drop expected.

At 04.10 p.m IST, the MCX iCOMDEX Crude Oil Index was down 15.73 points, or 0.31 percent, at Rs 4,978.72.

On the MCX, crude oil for April delivery hit an intraday high of Rs 4,475 per barrel and an intraday low of Rs 4,394 per barrel in the futures market.

Despite a drawdown in crude oil inventories, crude oil prices saw selling due to an unexpected rise in US gasoline inventories.