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Gold retreats from historic peak

Gold prices on Thursday slipped from record high levels by losing Rs 35 to Rs 32,940 per 10 gram due to fresh selling by stockists sparked by sharp fall in overseas markets. Reduced offtake at existing higher levels further put pressure on the precious metals prices. Silver followed suit and plunged by R1,000 to R62,000 per kg on reduced offtake by industrial units and coin makers. Traders said stockist selling in tandem with a weak global trend where gold and silver fell the most in more than three weeks amid concern that budget talks to avoid the US fiscal cliff are making little progress, mainly influenced the sentiment. Gold in global markets, which normally set price trend on the domestic front, fell by 1.7% to $1,714.90 an ounce, biggest drop since November 2 and silver by 1.8% to $33.47 an ounce, biggest decline since November 2 in New York.

Copper at 1-mth high, steel at 2-mth low

Copper climbed to its loftiest in close to a month on Thursday on hopes the US leaders will reach an agreement on averting a budget crisis of spending cuts and tax hikes.

On other hand, steel futures hit a more than two-month high due to poor demand in top consumer China. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange scaled an intraday high of $7,839 a tonne, the highest since November 1, while aluminium and zinc touched seven-week highs. However, Chinese steel futures fell, stoking fears that a slowdown in demand in the world's largest consumer would extend to early 2013 and hit iron ore prices as well.

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