Gold And Silver Prices Made Monumental Gains In August

It was a monumental month for the two precious metals. The trading days for gold and silver in the commodity markets ended for the month of August on Friday. Despite slight losses on the last day, gold stayed on track for its fourth straight monthly gains, as fears of recession and uncertainty of US-China trade war loomed.

On MCX, gold futures (October 2019) ended August with 0.38 percent decline at Rs 38,656 per 10 grams and silver futures ended 0.93 percent higher at Rs 46,742 per kg, from their previous day's prices. Earlier this week, futures of gold and silver had seen new highs of Rs 39,425 (per 10 grams) and Rs 47,440 (per kg), respectively.

Analysts said that investors in Asia were selling gold to purchase silver, as they see a possible bull market in the metal. Also, the yellow metal prices are too high for retail sales to pick up anytime soon, despite the upcoming festive season.

Gold and silver ETFs (exchange-traded funds) also reported double-digit gains in August as equity markets remained dull.

In the international market, depressing bond yields have many investors taking off risk from bonds and equities and heading into alternatives, like commodities. With US-China trade war weighing down global economic growth, gold prices rose to a six-year high and silver touched its strongest in two years this week.

Spot gold closed at $1,520.40 an ounce and US gold futures at $2,529.40 per ounce. The metal rallied nearly 7 percent in August, and silver climbed 13 percent.

The markets now await more news on the trade negotiations.