NEW DELHI: Gold prices were trading marginally in Wednesday’s trade amid a lack of directional cues. The recent hawkish commentary by the US Fed weighed on the yellow metal, even as the downside remained restricted amid the ongoing Ukrainian crisis.

On Wednesday, gold futures on MCX for April delivery were trading at Rs 51,379 per 10 gram, down Rs 37 or 0.07 per cent. Holdings of the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, stood at 1,083.60 tonnes on Tuesday.

Fed officials are helping shape market expectations for sharper interest-rate hikes to curb the surge in inflation, but have not managed to dispel fears the tightening cycle could blow a hole in the economy and labour market, Reuters reported. Capping gold’s losses, the West planned to announce more sanctions against the Kremlin amid a worsening humanitarian crisis despite talks between Ukraine and Russia, being confrontational but inching forward, the report added.

Silver futures for May delivery were trading Rs 91 or 0.13 per cent lower at Rs 67,692 per kg.

Trading strategy
“We expect both precious metals to remain volatile. Gold has support at $1,905-1894, while resistance at $1,940-1,950 per troy ounce. Silver has support at $24.55-24.32, while resistance is at $25.35-25.55. In rupee terms, gold has support at Rs 50,950–50,740, while resistance is at Rs 51,580–51,820. Silver has support at Rs 67,020- 66,550 while resistance is at Rs 68,450–68,930,” said Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities at Mehta Equities.

Global markets
Spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at $1,918.29 per ounce. US gold futures also slipped 0.2 per cent to $1,918.40, Reuters reported. Spot silver was down 0.1 per cent to $24.73 per ounce, platinum shed 0.6 per cent to $1,017.17. Palladium, used by automakers in catalytic converters to curb emissions, rose 2.1 per cent to $2,537.43 per ounce.