Gold crosses Rs 49,000 on MCX, Silver above Rs 50,500

New Delhi: Gold futures touched historic levels on the the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) by crossing Rs 49,000 per 10 grams while Silver prices reached above Rs 50,500 per kg.

At 3.42 pm On the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX), August gold contracts were trading 0.33 percent at Rs 48960.00 per 10 gram. September futures for silver were trading 0.78 percent at Rs 50,596 per kg.

Gold has given bumper return of 42 percent in a year. Fresh positions built up by participants on spot demand mainly led to rise in the precious yellow metal.

In commodities, gold breached $1,800 an ounce for the first time since 2011 as investors preferred safe-haven assets. Spot gold was 0.4% stronger at 1,802.4 per ounce.

Brent crude futures fell 0.1%, to $43.03 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped 0.3%, to $40.50 a barrel.