NEW DELHI: Gold prices were largely unchanged on Thursday as investors focused on higher inflation while conflicting statements over Russia-Ukraine tension also kept risk premium up.

Fed officials last month agreed that with inflation tightening its grip on the economy and employment strong, it was time to raise interest rates.

Gold futures on MCX were trading down by 0.09 per cent or Rs 43 at Rs 49,573 per 10 grams. Silver futures eased more than 0.46 per cent or Rs 289 to Rs 63,010 per kg.

In the spot market, the highest purity gold was sold at Rs 49,457 per 10 grams while silver was priced at Rs 63,234 per kg on Wednesday, according to the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association.

The spot prices of gold have gained more than about Rs 1,200 in the last 10 days, whereas Silver has soared more than Rs 1,850 per kg compared to the session earlier.

Trading strategy
“We expect gold prices to trade sideways to up for the day with COMEX Spot gold support at $1,850 and resistance at $1,890 per ounce. MCX Gold April futures support lies at Rs 49,300 and resistance at Rs 49,900 per 10 gram,” Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities.

Global markets
Spot gold held its ground at $1,868.36 per ounce, as of 0123 GMT. Bullion had hit its highest level since June at $1,879.48 on Tuesday. US gold futures were steady at $1,871.40.

Among other precious metals, spot silver was flat at $23.54 per ounce and palladium rose 0.2 per cent to $2,284.19. Platinum dipped 0.5 per cent to $1,056.53, easing off a three-month high touched in the previous session.