Gold price today: Yellow metal shines, silver tops Rs 71,500

NEW DELHI: Gold prices edged lower on Wednesday on the US dollar strengthening. Investors are also waiting for the US Fed meeting’s outcome for hints on tapering of economic support measures.

The dollar was steady near the one-month high against its counterparts, making gold more expensive for other currency holders. Some investors view gold as a hedge against higher inflation that could follow stimulus measures.

Gold futures on MCX were up by 0.08 per cent or Rs 37 at Rs 48,461 per 10 grams. Silver futures shed 0.41 per cent or Rs 291 to Rs 71,539 per kg.

Demand for gold from jewellers and central banks is likely to recover in 2021 but would stay below pre-pandemic levels. Also buying of bullion by exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is poised to fall. The demand for physical gold has remained tepid in India, the world’s second-largest bullion market.

In the spot market, the highest purity gold was sold at Rs 48,598 while silver was priced at Rs 71,202 on Tuesday, according to the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association.

“COMEX gold trades little changed near $1856/oz after a 0.5 per cent decline yesterday. Gold has turned range-bound as market players position for Fed decision,” Ravindra Rao, CMT, EPAT, VP-Head Commodity Research, Kotak Securities.

“Gold has already corrected in the expectation that Fed may hint toward monetary tightening and further movement may come from actual stance. ETF investors have also moved to the sidelines.”

Trading strategy

“We expect gold prices to trade sideways to down for the day with COMEX gold support at $1840 and resistance at $1870 per ounce. MCX Gold August support lies at Rs. 48000 and resistance at Rs. 48800 per 10 gram,” said Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities.

Global markets

Spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at $1,855.12 per ounce, by 0114 GMT. US gold futures were steady at $1,856.20 per ounce.

Silver eased 0.1 per cent to $27.62 per ounce, palladium gained 0.1 per cent to $2,765.96, while platinum fell 0.2 per cent to $1,151.54.