Gold hits another record for 3rd day; silver rates climb Rs 500

New Delhi, Sep 27: Gold prices advanced to yet another record high -- for the third straight day on Friday -- rising Rs 50 in the national capital on the back of continued buying by jewellers.

Continuing a firm momentum for the third straight session, gold prices rose Rs 50 to hit a fresh high of Rs 78,300 per 10 grams, according to the All India Sarafa Association.

On Thursday, the precious metal had finished at Rs 78,250 per 10 grams.

Silver also jumped Rs 500 to Rs 94,500 per kg on fresh offtake by industrial units and coin makers. The metal had closed at Rs 94,000 per kg in the previous trade.

Traders said increased buying by local jewellers to meet festive and wedding season demand and a firm trend in the overseas markets mainly lifted gold prices to this year's highest level.

Further, the US Federal Reserve's optimism that they will maintain an aggressive pace of interest rate cuts this year also boosted the bullion prices, they added.

Meanwhile, in the futures trade on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold contracts for October delivery, declined Rs 181, or 0.24 per cent, to Rs 75,206 per 10 grams.

Silver contracts for December delivery fell Rs 142, or 0.15 per cent, to trade at Rs 92,522 per kilogram on the bourses.

"Gold price, which touched a high on MCX October futures contract yesterday (Thursday), attracted some sellers on the last day of the week retreating further from the all-time peak," Maneesh Sharma, AVP - Commodities & Currencies, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers, said.

The downtick was due to emergence of buying interest in dollar index, which tends to undermine demand for the commodity, Sharma added.