Gold crosses Rs 11,000 mark for the first time

“The sharp rise in oil prices to over $100 per barrel and weakness in the dollar boosted gold prices. Good industrial demand also helped silver notch handsome gains,” said a dealer.

In Mumbai, one of the top bullion centres in the world, standard gold (99.5 purity) resumed higher at Rs 10,950 from yesterday’s close of Rs10,760 and improved further to settle the day at the historic peak of Rs11,035, a steep rise of Rs275 for every ten grams.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) also shot up by Rs265 for every 10 grams to Rs11,080 from Rs10,815 previously. Silver (.999 fineness), too, spurted by Rs410 for every kilo to Rs20,045 from Rs19,635 yesterday. Silver was closed at Rs 20,055 on April 18, 2007.

Investors tend to buy gold as a hedge when the dollar weakens and oil prices surge. On the international front, in New York, funds buying was seen in gold and silver futures. This was mainly encouraged by strength in global crude oil prices which hit an all-time high of $100 a barrel. Fund buying was also spurred by weakness in the American currency, traders said.