Amid easing Middle East tensions, safe haven buying in bullion seems to be diminishing as gold prices on MCX for June futures contracts fell by Rs 102 or 0.14% on Friday to trade at Rs 70,634 per 10 grams while MCX July silver contracts were down by Rs 44 or 0.05% to Rs 81,319 per kg.
Gold and silver exhibited significant volatility, initially surging during the early trading session following the FOMC meeting outcomes, only to relinquish those gains later on.
The release of U.S. jobless claims, meeting market expectations at 2,08,000, tempered the upward momentum of precious metals. Also, the easing tensions in the Middle East diminished safe-haven demand, contributing to a decline in gold and silver prices from their peak levels. Nonetheless, profit-taking in the dollar index and U.S. bond yields provided some support at lower price levels. Further bolstering prices was the U.S. Fed’s indication of no imminent rate hikes, which buoyed precious metals.
In the U.S. markets, spot gold held its ground at $2,301.49 per ounce, as of 0215 GMT, and had lost more than 1% this week. Prices have fallen $130 after hitting a record high of $2,431.29 earlier in April.
U.S. gold futures edged 0.1% higher to $2,311.20.The Fed on Wednesday indicated it is still leaning towards eventual reductions in borrowing costs, but put a red flag on recent disappointing inflation readings that could make those rate cuts a while in coming. Markets are pricing a 73% chance of a rate cut in November, as per CME’s FedWatch Tool.Bullion is known as an inflation hedge, but elevated interest rates reduce the appeal of the non-yielding asset.Today, the US Dollar Index, DXY, was hovering near the 105.24 mark, rising 0.06 or 0.06%.
Support and resistance levels for bullion by Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities, Mehta Equities:
- Gold sees support at Rs 70,520 and Rs 70,350, with resistance at Rs 70,980 and Rs 71,120, respectively.
- Silver’s support is positioned at Rs 80,840-80,380, with resistance marked at Rs 81,940 and Rs 82,580.
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