Gold rate today: Yellow metal remains under pressure; silver above Rs 54,000 on MCX

New Delhi: Gold prices remained subdued on Thursday as the dollar hovered near its recent peak on aggressive US Fed rate hike bets.

Fed officials said on Wednesday that they are still not convinced that the worst of the U.S. inflation scare has passed, in comments that teed up a continuation of the central bank’s aggressive interest rate hikes.

Gold futures on

were trading marginally lower by 0.12 per cent or Rs 61 at Rs 50,445 per 10 grams. However, silver futures gained 0.14 per cent or Rs 78 at Rs 54,105 per kg.

Investors’ focus will now turn to the European Central Bank meeting later today, where the central bank is expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points on Thursday to fight runaway inflation.

Gold imports by India, the world’s second-biggest bullion consumer, halved in August from year-ago levels, as volatile local prices and a weak rupee prompted consumers to postpone purchases, Reuters reported citing a government source.

In the spot market, the highest purity gold was sold at Rs 50,553 per 10 grams while silver was priced at Rs 53,396 per kg on Wednesday, according to the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association.

The spot prices of gold have plunged more than Rs 1,500 per 10 grams in less than two weeks, whereas silver has dropped about Rs 2,500 per kg in the same period under review.

Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities, Mehta Equities said that a big drop in crude oil prices to an eight-month low today did limit the upside in the precious metals.

“The Bank of Canada raised interest rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday and the ECB could follow in its policy meeting today,” he said. “Aggressive rate hikes by other central banks limit gains of the dollar,” he added.

Trading Strategy

“We expect gold prices to trade sideways to down for the day with COMEX Spot gold support at $1,700 and resistance at $1,730 per ounce. MCX Gold October support lies at Rs 50,200 and resistance at Rs 50,800 per 10 grams,” said Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities),

Securities.

Global markets

Spot gold was down 0.1 per cent at $1,717.38 per ounce. US gold futures were up 0.1 per cent at $1,729.90.

Spot silver fell 0.4 per cent to $18.43 per ounce, platinum was 0.3 per cent lower at $863.71 and palladium dropped 0.7 per cent to $2,029.23.