Gold scales R31,000 mark on high demand

The precious metal has been on the rise ever since the government clamped down on gold imports by imposing series of duty hikes and constraints on supplies to control the widening current account deficit.

Moreover,there is a huge supply shortage in the market due to lack of clarity on modalities of imports.

Encouraged by the overall trend,industrial metal silver also surged ahead to reclaim the important Rs 51,000 per kilogram level driven by aggressive speculative buy-out along with robust industrial offtake.

Standard gold of 99.5 per cent purity soared by Rs 630 to conclude at Rs 31,325 per 10 gm from Fridays closing level of Rs 30,695.

Pure gold of 99.9 per cent purity spiked by Rs 640 to end at Rs 31,470 per 10 gm from Rs 30,830.

Silver ready .999 fineness jumped by a massive Rs 1,505 to finish at Rs 51,485 per kg compared to Rs 49,980 on Friday.

Melting equities and depreciating rupee have left no other option for the investor fraternity but to park their funds in bullion, said Surender Jain,vice president of All India Sarafa Bazar.

Restricted supply after government increased import duty on the metal to 10 per cent on August 13 and firm global cues supported the upsurge in the metal,he added.

Globally,gold climbed to two-month high to 1,379.20 an ounce on signs of higher demand.