NEW DELHI: Gold prices were trading marginally higher on Friday although hovering near a multi-week low following a sharp decline on Thursday.

The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) said the Omicron variant cannot be considered ‘mild’, while stronger yields capped bullion’s gains.

Gold futures on MCX gained 0.08 per cent or Rs 38 at Rs 47,489 per 10 grams. Silver was unchanged at Rs 60,426 per kg.

Ravindra Rao, CMT, EPAT, VP- Head Commodity Research at Kotak Securities said gold has stalled after the sharp sell-off triggered by FOMC minutes as market focus shifts to non-farm payrolls report. “Support from virus concerns and geopolitical risks is countered by Fed’s aggressive monetary tightening stance and weaker investor interest,” he added.

In the spot market, the highest purity gold was sold at Rs 47,832 per 10 grams while silver was priced at Rs 60,435 per kg on Thursday, according to the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association.

The spot price of gold has declined about Rs 500 in the last four sessions, whereas Silver has tanked more than Rs 1,800 per kg during the same period.

Ravi Singh, Vice President & Head of Research, ShareIndia said, “Taking cues from Fed’s December meeting minutes, gold prices are falling on the indication of a rate hike as well as a reduction in asset buying very soon.”

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 $1,810 per ounce. MCX Gold February support lies at Rs 47,100 and resistance at Rs 47,800 per 10 gram,” said Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities.

Global markets
Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent to $1,791.73 per ounce by 0100 GMT. US gold futures were up 0.1 per cent to $1,791.70. The precious metal was all set for its worst weekly fall since late November, down about 2 per cent.

Spot silver was flat at $22.16 an ounce, platinum rose 0.2 per cent to $966.85, and palladium inched up 0.1 per cent to $1,875.78.