Strong economic data in the US capped gains in the yellow metal on Monday which was up on the escalation of tension in the Middle East. Street awaits the impact of higher consumer spending data on its monetary policy announcements, scheduled later this week.
Taking cues from the price movement in the international markets, February MCX gold futures were trading at Rs 62,285 per 10 grams around 10 am and were up Rs 179 or 0.29% while the March Silver futures were trading higher by Rs 178 or 0.25% at 71,951 per kg.
On the Comex, the gold contracts were trading at $2,023.80 per troy ounce, up by $6.50 or 0.32% while Silver was hovering near $23.010, higher by $0.138 or 0.600%.
The dollar index (DXY) was trading slightly lower at 103.52 against a basket of six top currencies, up by 0.09 points or 0.09%. It has gained 0.19% over the past five trading sessions.
“Gold prices increased slightly as investors weighed recent US economic data and its potential impact on the Federal Reserve‘s interest rate decisions. There’s uncertainty about whether the Fed will start reducing interest rates in March. Recent data showed a decrease in the Fed’s preferred inflation measure but an increase in consumer spending. Lower interest rates generally benefit gold, which doesn’t yield interest,” Neha Qureshi, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at Anand Rathi Commodities & Currencies said.
“Central Bank buying is the main factor that is supporting Gold prices to trade above $2,000 over the last few months. They have been buying gold with both hands for the last 2-3 years in a bid to diversify their reserves out of dollars to other asset classes,” Prithviraj Kothari, Managing Director of RiddiSiddhi Bullions said. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kitselh has been actively buying around 40 tonnes of gold every year for the last six years and India now stands at ninth position in terms of gold reserves with holdings over 800 tonnes in 2023, he said. lately.On yellow metal’s outlook, Anuj Gupta, Head Commodity & Currency, HDFC Securities said that prices are expected to remain in the range of $1,980 to $2,040 with moderate bearish bias. The upside looks limited with levels not going beyond $2,040, Gupta said. The outlook for silver in the short term also remains bearish. The MCX Silver May future has support at Rs 72,400-71,700 and resistance at Rs 73,780-74,500, the HDFC Securities analyst said.
Investor sentiment towards gold has recently become more cautious, with a decrease in bullish bets on gold futures. As of this morning in Singapore, gold rose by 0.2% to $2,021.56 per ounce, following a 0.5% drop last week. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased slightly. Silver prices went up, but palladium and platinum prices fell.
On the daily chart, April MCX Gold has given a breakdown from its rising channel and is forming lower highs and lower lows while MACD showing a negative crossover, Qureshi said, emphasising on the bearish outlook.
The Anand Rathi analyst sees resistance at Rs 62,500-63,000 while support at Rs 61,530-61,000.
Gold has narrowed its losses to 1.96% or Rs 1,239 per 10 grams in 2024, Anuj Gupta, Head Commodity & Currency, HDFC Securities said. Meanwhile, Silver futures have also trimmed this year’s losses to 3.57% or Rs 2,657 from 4.13% or Rs 3,076 per kg in the last five sessions, Gupta of HDFC Securities said.
After ending 2023 with gains of 15.22% or by Rs 8,372 per 10 grams, MCX gold futures have started this year on a weak note and have carried the sluggishness into the second week as well, Gupta said.
The price of gold in major physical bullion markets like Delhi, Ahmedabad and other cities is Rs 62,500 per 10 grams while those of 1 kg of Silver is Rs 73,000.
Intraday Trading Strategy by Neha Qureshi
– Sell MCX April Gold futures at Rs 62,300 with a stop loss of Rs 62,600 and a price target of Rs 62,800.
– Sell MCX March Silver futures at Rs 72,000 with a stop loss of Rs 73,000 and a price target of Rs 70,000.
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(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)