Gold futures in India touched a record high on Wednesday with the US-Iran conflict escalating. Gold futures were trading up 1.36% at Rs 41,216 per 10 grams. On MCX, the priced touched a record high of Rs 41,278.
MCX is the exchange on which commodities such as gold is traded.
However, these are prices of Gold futures. Gold futures are standardized, exchange-traded contracts in which a buyer agrees to buy from the seller, a specific quantity of gold at a predetermined price on a future delivery date.
A spot gold price is what gold is selling at the given day.
On Wednesday, spot gold prices were at Rs 39,710 for 10 grams for 22 carrot gold and Rs 40,710 for 24 carrot gold.
Spot gold prices on Monday touched a lifetime high of Rs 42,000 per 10 gram for the first time owing to escalating US-Iran tensions.
In the international futures market COMEX, gold was trading 1.08% higher at $1,591.35 an ounce.
In international markets, spot gold price increased by 1.9% to $1,603.21 per ounce by 00:56 GMT. Prices hit their highest since March 2013 at $1,610.90 earlier in the session.
The attack on US bases came hours after the funeral of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by a US drone strike.
In retaliation to US’s attack on Iran, Iran launched a missile attack on bases where US-led forces were stationed early on Wednesday
According to experts, the jump is price is a direct result of escalating tensions between United States and Iran. Gold is usually seen as a safer investment bet in times of political and economic uncertainty.
Silver too, saw an increase in prices. Silver was trading at Rs 48,661 per kg, up by Rs 550 or 1.15%, from the previous session of the March contract.