Gold scales new peak of Rs19,000 before settling slightly lower

The retail price of gold in India crossed the Rs19,000-mark for 10 gm for the first time ever on account of a surge in global spot and futures markets as well as a weaker rupee, but settled at Rs18,700 by market closing time.

Even in the futures market, the yellow metal touched Rs18,750 for 10 July delivery, up nearly 2 per cent, as global investors made a beeline for bullion in the wake of the euro crisis that has made investments in sovereign securities risky, analysts said.

According to the London-headquartered World Gold Council, which recently released its outlook for the remaining part of this year, the demand for the metal in India and China will continue to grow driven by jewellery demand in spite of high gold prices.

"In the first quarter of 2010, India was the strongest-performing market as the total consumer demand surged 698 per cent to 193.5 tonnes. In China, demand proved resilient, as demand increased 11 per cent to 105.2 tonnes," said the council.

According to analysts, the surge Tuesday followed a warning by the European Central Bank Monday that euro zone banks faced up to $235 billion in potential loan losses due to the ongoing global financial crisis.

Gold prices have seen a rather steep upward swing since 2007, when the retail price of the metal per 10 gm was Rs 10,800. Since then the prices have risen at an average of as much as 35 per cent.