Fed cut hopes lift gold and silver to records in India

Gold and silver surged to record levels on Indian commodity markets early this week as hopes of a US Federal Reserve interest rate cut, a softer dollar and a weakening rupee pushed investors toward safehaven assets, before prices eased later in the week amid profit taking. On the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold futures traded in a wide band, rising from about Rs 1,04,883 per 10 grams in early trade on Monday to a new intraday peak of Rs 1,07,226 per 10 grams on Wednesday, before falling back to around Rs 1,05,800 on Thursday, traders said. Silver futures also hit record highs, trading above Rs 1,24,000 per kilogram in midweek activity.

Market participants attributed the initial rally to dovish Fed signals and persistent concerns over trade policy. Analysts said comments from some US Fed officials and a softer US dollar made nonyielding assets such as gold more attractive. Internationally, spot gold climbed to more than $3,469 an ounce by late-morning trade and earlier approached the $3,500 record, while spot silver topped $40 an ounce for the first time since 2011.

The rupee's decline amplified domestic price pressure. The local currency weakened by about 17 paise to 88.26...