Gold crosses Rs 13k; oil basket at $103/bl

Bullion market expert predits yellow metal to touch Rs 15,000 this year.

The bull-run in the bullion market continued with the metal breaching the Rs 13,000-mark here on Friday.

Gold prices could touch Rs 15,000 per 10 grams this year, a top bullion industry official said. Standard gold opened at Rs 13,035 per 10 grams in Mumbai's bullion market and Rs 13,160 in the Kolkata bullion market. The yellow metal hit an all-time high of $1,000 an ounce in the US yesterday.

"Gold has scaled to a new high in national and international markets. Prices may slide in the near future to Rs 12,500, but the overall bullish trend may continue and its price may touch the $1,200 an ounce and Rs 15,000 per 10 grams in 2008," Riddhisiddhi Bullion Director Prithviraj Kothari said on Friday.

The likely 50 basis point cut by the US Federal Reserve next week had already been discounted in the current price, he said.

"Demand for physical gold has come down drastically and revival in demand may start only when the price retreats. The price may come down to Rs 12,700 per 10 grams in the near future and may scale up to Rs 13,500 by March-end," Bombay Bullion Association President Suresh Hundia added.

India imported around 10.2 tonnes of gold in February and only five tonnes in January as compared with 52 tonnes and 56 tonnes, respectively, in the corresponding periods a year ago.

The country imports around 800 tonnes annually, which accounts for 20 per cent of the world gold consumption. Gold prices would remain strong and should stabilise though record high prices have doused buying for now, World Gold Council Chief Executive James Burton said.

Double whammy
In line with global crude oil prices, India's oil basket touched $103.05 a barrel (Rs 4,163) on Thursday (the latest for which data is available), up $1.08 a barrel from a day earlier, according to data released by the petroleum and natural gas ministry.

The price of the crude basket has risen 11.6 per cent from $92.29 a barrel on January 2. It had averaged $99.66 a barrel so far this month as against $92.37 a barrel in February and $89.52 in January, the release said.