NEW DELHI: Gold prices held steady, with a negative bias, as traders assessed the impact of surging Omicron coronavirus cases and interest rate hikes aimed at taming high inflation.
Gold futures on MCX declined 0.14 per cent or Rs 68 to Rs 48,172 per 10 grams. Silver futures eased 0.19 per cent or Rs 115 to Rs 61,302 per kg.
“Gold prices have witnessed profit booking after the massive rally. As the equity is under pressure due to heavy outflow, investors are withdrawing profits from safe-haven assets,” said Ravi Singh Vice President & Head of Research, ShareIndia.
Physical gold demand in India showed a modest improvement this week as some buyers rushed to stores anticipating a further rise in domestic prices, while customers in other Asian hubs started bullion shopping for Christmas.
In the spot market, the highest purity gold was sold at Rs 48,527 per 10 grams while silver was priced at Rs 61,106 per kg on Friday, according to the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association.
The spot price of gold has increased by about Rs 1,000 in the last two weeks. The yellow metal added less than Rs 500 during the period under review.
Trading strategy
“We expect gold prices to trade sideways to down for the day with COMEX Spot gold support at $1,780 and resistance at $1,805 per ounce. MCX Gold February support lies at Rs 48,000 and resistance at Rs 48,600 per 10 gram,” said Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities.
Global markets
Spot gold was up 0.1 per cent at $1,790.57 per ounce by 0142 GMT. U.S. gold futures were down 0.2 per cent at $1,790.60.
Spot silver was down 0.1 per cent at $22.20 an ounce, platinum shed 0.2 per cent to $930.72 and palladium fell 0.1 per cent to $1,747.46.