New Delhi: Gold prices were trading flat on Friday, headed for a weekly gain on the back of the weak US dollar after dovish tilt in Fed’s stance.
The Fed’s signalling of a slowdown in the pace of rate hikes took pressure off global peers to keep on raising rates and offered relief to emerging markets, which have suffered their biggest rout in over a decade this year.
Gold futures on
were trading flat, marginally up by 0.08% or Rs 41 at Rs 52,712 per 10 grams. Similarly, silver futures gained 0.13% or Rs 79 at Rs 62,072 per kg.
Gold is seen as a hedge against inflation, which rising rates aim to tackle, thereby diminishing the metal’s appeal. Higher interest rates also make other assets more attractive compared with non-interest-bearing bullion.
Gold prices edged higher as the US dollar fell to a three-month low after the release of minutes from the last meeting of the Federal Reserve’s policy committee, which showed Fed has been looking to slow the pace of interest rate hikes, said ICICIDirect.
Growing fears of a global economic slowdown continued to support bullion prices, it added. “Gold prices are expected to trade with a positive bias for the day amid weakness in the US dollar,” it said.
Physical gold demand in Asia stayed soft this week, with premiums in top hub China easing further as fresh COVID-19 restrictions dimmed activity, while higher domestic prices put off most buyers in India.
In the spot market, the highest purity gold was sold at Rs 52,713 per 10 grams while silver was priced at Rs 62,266 per kg on Thursday, according to the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association.
The spot prices of gold have slipped more than Rs 2,600 per 10 grams in the last three weeks, whereas spot prices of silver have jumped over Rs 5,200 per kg during the same period under review.
Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities, Mehta Equities, said that positive cues from the minutes of the Fed’s November meeting, released earlier this week, provided a tailwind for prices.
Trading Strategy
“Bullions overall charts are looking positive. Momentum Indicator RSI also indicates the same,” said Amit Khare, AVP- Research Commodities, Ganganagar Commodity. He advised traders to make fresh buy positions in gold and silver.
He suggested buying gold and silver near given support levels at Rs 52,600-52,400 and Rs 61,700-61,000, respectively. He also advised profit booking near resistance levels at Rs 52,850-53,-00 and Rs 62,500 and Rs 63,100, respectively.
Global markets
Spot gold gained 0.2% to $1,758.41 per ounce by 0223 GMT, and was up 0.5% so far this week. US gold futures rose 0.7% to $1,758.30.
Silver was flat at $21.51, but was up about 3% for the week. Platinum was little changed at $988.08, while palladium firmed 0.2% to $1,883.40.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)