MUMBAI: After gains for the past two days, both precious metals declined on the bullion market here on Friday on renewed offerings by stockists
on the back of overnight fall in the New York market.
In the global market, gold erased initial losses to rise above $1,000, reflecting a spike and subsequent retreat in the dollar, as investors fretted over news of deeper than expected US job losses in September.
US employers cut a heftier-than-expected 263,000 jobs, lifting the unemployment rate to 9.8%, according to a government report. Turning to the local market, standard gold (99.5 purity) dropped by Rs 50 per ten grams to Rs 15,590 from Rs 15,640. Pure gold (99.9 purity) also fell by a similar margin to Rs 15,665 from Rs 15,715 previously. Silver ready (.999 fineness) moved down by Rs 90 per kilo to Rs 26,445 from Rs 26,535 previously.
Gold slipped below $987 on the initial jobs news and then moved up to $1,006.20 an ounce at 1435 GMT, compared with $998.50 an ounce quoted late in New York on Thursday. Bullion rose to an 18-month high of $1,023.55 an ounce in September, in sight of the March 2008 record high of $1,030.80 an ounce.
Gold is often viewed as an alternative to holding the dollar and benefits from weakness in the US currency, which makes it more affordable for those buying in other currencies. But heavy long positions built up in the market made bullion vulnerable to a correction, traders said.
The non-commercial net long position in gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange stood at an all-time high of 236,749 lots for the week ended Sept 22, figures from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed. US gold futures for December delivery were at $1,007.3 an ounce, versus Thursday's $1,000.7 on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
