Gold futures continued to rule lower on the week ended on Friday at the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) on the rise in the dollar against the euro, following better-than-expected US jobs data. US gold futures fell sharply with the contract for June down $14.20 to $850.90 an ounce. Silver also slipped in tandem with the yellow metal. On the other hand, crude oil futures reacted sharply at the peak level on US supply gain and interest rate cut.
The May crude oil contracts were lower by 1.88% to trade at Rs 4,586 per barrel, down by Rs 88 over the previous week. Total volume was 20.74 lakh barrels (24.89 lakh barrels) while open interest was 17.68 lakh barrels (20.37 lakh barrels).
Crude oil fell more than $2 a barrel on Friday after the Energy Department reported that US supplies rose more than forecast and the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates.
The active June gold contract was lower by 2.67% at Rs 11,232 per 10 gram, down by Rs 309 per 10 gram. Total volume was 13,294 kg, down from 16,105 kg. Open interest increased to 8,720 kg from the previous week’s 8,000 kg. Firmer dollar makes gold costlier for holders of other currencies and the metal is also generally seen as a hedge against oil-led inflation.
The active May silver contract was lower by 2.15% at Rs 21,660 per kg, down by Rs 477 per kg. Total volume was 10,380 kg, down from 16,105 kg. Open interest was 407 tonne from the previous week’s figure of 10.3 tonne.
The active copper June contract was traded lower at Rs 332.75 per kg, down by Rs 7 over the previous week. The Open interest was 8,380 tonne (2,890 tonne) and volume was 16,032 tonne (4,245 tonne). London Metal Exchange copper for three-month delivery traded at $8,282 per tonne.