Silver futures surge above Rs 53,000 per kg on strong investor demand

Silver prices were supported by improved demand outlook for industrial metal and weakness in the US dollar index

Silver prices climbed to Rs 53,035 per kg on July 20 as participants increased their long positions. The precious metal gained 3.7 percent last week on the COMEX.

Silver holdings in iShares ETF rose by 49.25 tonne to 16,260.2 tonne, a record high on strong investor interest.

In the futures market, silver for September delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 53,050 and a low of Rs 52,735 per kg on the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX). So far in the current series, the precious metal has touched a low of Rs 41,558 and a high of Rs 53,199.

Silver futures for September delivery gained Rs 136, or 0.26 percent, to Rs 53,035 per kg at 14:15 hours on a business turnover of 15,723 lots. The same for December delivery rose Rs 198, or 0.37 percent, to Rs 54,201 per kg on a turnover of 399 lots.

The value of September and December contracts traded so far is Rs 1,144.23 crore and Rs 6.96 crore, respectively.

The spot gold-to-silver ratio currently stands at 93.28 to 1, which means the amount of silver required to buy one ounce of gold.

Silver has intraday support at Rs 52,625-52,350, whereas resistance is seen at Rs 53,115-53,300, according to Motilal Oswal.

The broking firm said spot silver has intraday support at $19-18.75 per ounce whereas resistance is seen at $19.55-19.80.

At 08:50 (GMT), the precious metal was up 0.32 percent at $19.82 an ounce in New York.

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