Silver on fire, crude oil at new peak, gold firmer

Silver futures prices on the domestic bourses touched a recent high and crossed the Rs 26,000-mark on Friday, mainly on investment buying supported by strong global bullion markets. Investors are considering silver as an alternative investment option after gold. In the global markets, silver prices touched a 27-year new high of over $20.50 an ounce. Similarly, gold futures prices also firmed up further, chiefly on a weak dollar value against other currencies, supported by rising crude oil prices.

The active May 2008 silver contract was up nearly 2.77% at Rs 26,048 per 10 gram. Total volume was 471 tonne, slightly down from 510 tonne over the previous week. Total open interest was also lower at 269 tonne from the previous week?s 323 tonne.

The active April 2008 gold contract was up nearly 1.3% at Rs 12,740 per 10 gram. Total volume was 16,276 kg, down marginally from 17,050 kg. Total open interest was lower at 9,155 kg from the previous week?s 11,554 kg.

NYMEX gold futures rose as high as $995.20 an ounce on Wednesday and were up more than 15% since the beginning of the year.

The April 2008 crude oil contract was quoted higher by 4.70% to trade at Rs 4,252 per barrel. Total volume was higher at 14.25 lakh barrels from 11.56 lakh barrels, while total open interest was around 12.13 lakh barrels, up from 11.74 lakh barrels.

Crude oil prices jumped up due to a mixture of political tension over Iran, weakness in the dollar?s value, Opec?s unwillingness to boost production to drive down prices, the rising tide of investments in commodities, as fund managers diversify their portfolios and seek a hedge against inflation.

The active April 2008 copper contract was traded higher at Rs 346.90 per kg, up by nearly 2.28% over the previous week. The volume was 18,901 tonne, up from 15,322 tonne. Open interest was 8,865 tonne, down from 10,234 tonne.

In London, copper was headed for a sixth weekly gain, as stocks monitored by the London Metal Exchange dropped to their lowest in almost five months. Global stockpiles monitored by exchanges or held by traders, consumers, and producers total about 8.50 lakh tonne, or 2.3 weeks of global demand.