NEW DELHI: Gold prices remained subdued on Friday as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole.
The key central bankers’ conference which will be watched for guidance on future interest rate hikes. The dollar index hovered near one-month highs, while benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields firmed.
Gold futures on
were trading lower as it dropped 0.13 per cent or Rs 65 at Rs 51,637 per 10 grams. However, silver futures added 0.09 per cent or Rs 52 at Rs 55,441 per kg.
Gold has retreated because the US dollar has started picking up some steam and there’s also some thought that the Fed will remain in inflation-fighting mode, which will be perceived as hawkish.
While gold is considered a safe investment during times of economic volatility, interest rate hikes increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
In the spot market, the highest purity gold was sold at Rs 52,094 per 10 grams while silver was priced at Rs 55,883 per kg on Thursday, according to the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association.
The spot prices of gold have topped the Rs 52,000 mark after four straight sessions, whereas silver has dropped more than Rs 2,800 per kg in the last two weeks.
The focus would be on Jackson hole symposium speech and US GDP data to understand the clear trend in gold, said Ravi Singh, Vice President and Head of Research, ShareIndia. “Till then gold prices may move in a range-bound zone.”
Trading Strategy
“We expect gold prices to trade sideways to up for the day with COMEX Spot gold support at $1,740 and resistance at $1,770 per ounce. MCX Gold October support lies at Rs 51,200 and resistance at Rs 51,800 per 10 grams,” said Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities),
Securities.
Global markets
Spot gold inched 0.2 per cent lower to $1,755 per ounce by 0311 GMT. US gold futures dropped 0.2 per cent to $1,768.10. The greenback-priced bullion is set for a weekly rise of about 0.4 per cent.
Spot silver slipped 0.3 per cent to $19.22 per ounce, and palladium was steady at $2,146.84. Both are set for a weekly rise. Platinum rose 0.3 per cent to $883.63 but is down for a second consecutive week.
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