Gold prices spurted by a whopping Rs 80 per ten grams to scale a new all-time peak of Rs 5,730 on the bullion market following a flare-up in global prices to over six year highs owing to war fears. However, soaring global gold prices and poor demand in India, the world’s largest consumer, have forced bullion importers to stay on the sidelines.Gold prices soared, breached key resistance levels and surpassed the earlier life-time highs of Rs 5,713 struck on February 13, 1996, as traders built up large gold stocks due to global, political and economic tensions. The main reason behind the steep rise in the yellow metal was attributed to apprehensions of a potential US-led attack on Iraq, as speculators reinforced gold’s status of a safe-haven investment in times of a war-like crisis, a dealer said. Ten-tola gold bar (.999 purity) also jumped to Rs 67,200 from Rs 66,350 previously. Standard mint moved up from Rs 5,650 to Rs 5,730. Ready silver (.999 fineness) also moved up further by Rs 30 per kilo to Rs 8,170 from Rs 8,140.‘‘We all are almost sitting idle and waiting and watching price movements,’’ said Narendra Singh Rathore, a gold trader based in Jaipur.
