NEW DELHI: Gold prices traded flat on Friday ahead of the holiday season as the dollar steadied and appetite for riskier assets improved on easing fears over a fallout from the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Gold futures on MCX increased marginally 0.04 per cent or Rs 18 at Rs 48,170 per 10 grams. Silver futures gained 0.06 per cent or Rs 39 at Rs 62,350 per kg.

Gold prices are trading near five-week high supported by inflation worries, said Ravi Singh, Vice President & Head of Research, ShareIndia. “One can expect muted trading today as the US markets are closed for Christmas holiday. The lack of fresh triggers may keep gold prices in a tight range,” he added.

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 48,292 per 10 grams while silver was priced at Rs 61,802 per kg on Thursday, according to the Indian Bullion and Jewelers Association.

The spot price of gold has gained about 750 per 10 grams in the ongoing month so far, whereas silver has shed more than Rs 1,000 per kg, but has remained above Rs 61,000 for most of the period.

Trading strategy

“We expect gold prices to trade sideways to up for the day with COMEX Spot gold support at $1,800 and resistance at$1,833 per ounce. MCX Gold February support lies at Rs 47,900 and resistance at Rs 48,400 per 10 gram,” said Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities.

Global markets

Spot gold was up 0.4% to $1,809.89 per ounce by 1841 GMT, while U.S. gold futures settled up 0.5% at $1,811.70 per ounce.

Spot silver rose 0.5% to $22.89 per ounce and platinum was up 0.8% to $972.84 per ounce, gaining 2.5% and 4.2%, respectively, so far this week. Palladium gained 3.3% to $1,943.68 per ounce, and climbed about 9.2% for the week