Silver slides below Rs 2 lakh/kg mark after scaling all-time peak

It was a day full of seesaw moves in the domestic precious metal space on December 12. Silver soared past the historic and psychologically important Rs 2 lakh per kg mark in the final hours of trade in Friday's volatile session.

MCX silver futures cross Rs 2 lakh mark and then retreat

On the commodity derivative exchange, the near-month silver contract -- March 5 -- gained by as much as Rs 8,764, or 4.5 per cent, to register a lifetime high of Rs 2,01,615 in the evening session, tracing a record high of $64.6 per ounce in the global benchmark.

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Analysts say that a sudden retreat in the global rate was fuelled by profit-taking, pulling the white metal off the peak.

In the international market, silver fell more than three per cent to $61.7 an ounce.

Gold, on the other hand, managed to finish the day in the green.

On MCX, gold futures (February 5) scaled an all-time high of Rs 1,35,263 before turning flat moments before the closing bell.

With that, both precious metals exited a week full of gains and losses, with bouts of surge on the back of tight inventories and swift cool-offs thanks to apparent profit-taking.

What's influencing sentiment in precious metals now?

Analysts say that with the widely-expected Fed rate cut now out of the way, policymakers are clearly waiting for a key US non-farm payrolls reading due next week before placing more decisive bets.

Silver is on track for a weekly gain of around 5.0 per cent, having more than doubled already in a year in anticipating of steadily growing industrial demand and tighter supplies.

Some analysts have also cautioned that bouts of volatility and profit-taking cannot be ruled out in the short term.