NEW DELHI: Gold prices inched lower on Thursday, in line with the global market mood, but were set for the biggest quarterly gain since September 2020. The spike in conflict between Russia and Ukraine lifted the demand for safe-haven metal in the ongoing quarter.

Gold futures on MCX were trading down 0.34 per cent or Rs 178 at Rs 51,598 per 10 grams. Silver futures were trading lower by 0.82 per cent or Rs 556 at Rs 66,850 per kg.

The dollar index slid to a more than one-week low, making gold less expensive for other currency holders. US benchmark 10-year yields also slipped from near three-year highs, decreasing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

In the spot market, the highest purity gold was sold at Rs 51,449 per 10 grams while silver was priced at Rs 67,041 per kg on Wednesday, according to the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association.

The spot prices of gold have dropped about Rs 2,150 per 10 grams since March 07, whereas Silver breached Rs 3,840 per kg levels since March 08.

Trading strategy
“We expect gold prices to trade sideways to up for the day with COMEX Spot gold support at $1,910 and resistance at $1,940 per ounce. MCX Gold June support lies at Rs 51,500 and resistance at Rs 52,100 per 10 gram,” said Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities.

Global markets
Spot gold was down 0.3 per cent at $1,926.46 per ounce by 0245 GMT. US gold futures were down 0.4 per cent at $1,931.The metal has gained about 5.6 per cent so far in the quarter and 1 per cent in the month.

Spot silver fell 0.7 per cent to $24.67 per ounce, but was on course for its best quarterly rise since June 2021. Platinum shed 0.6 per cent to $984.26 but was set for its biggest quarterly gain since March 2021.

Palladium was down 0.5 per cent to $2,255.28 but was on course for its sharpest quarterly jump since September 2020. The auto-catalyst metal has tumbled about 40 per cnet since scaling an all-time peak on March 7.