Gold prices traded marginally lower on Wednesday as investors keenly awaited the outcome of a tightly contested U.S. presidential race.
As of 10:00 am, December gold futures were trading at Rs 78,434 per 10 grams on the MCX, down by Rs 73, or 0.09%, from the previous session’s closing price. Meanwhile, December silver futures were priced at Rs 93,490 per kg, down Rs 1,158, or 1.22%, at the same time.
Spot gold held its ground at $2,745.42 per ounce, as of 0218 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of $2,790.15 last Thursday.
“Gold prices are likley to remain sluggish as investors refrained from taking big bets ahead of the U.S. presidential election, with the Federal Reserve policy meeting due later this week also in focus,” said Angel One.
Republican Donald Trump won 14 states in Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election while Democrat Kamala Harris captured four states and Washington, D.C., Edison Research projected, but critical battleground states were unlikely to be called for hours or even days.
Traders are also awaiting the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, which concludes on Thursday, and Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks for further direction.Market expectations are leaning towards a quarter-point rate cut by the Fed this week, following the September reduction.Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities at Mehta Equities, noted, “Market expectations suggest that the U.S. Federal Reserve may cut interest rates by 25 basis points in its upcoming policy meeting, following disappointing employment data from last week. Additionally, a rise in crude oil prices lent support to gold and silver. However, the steady performance of U.S. 10-year bond yields continues to limit the upward momentum in precious metals.”
“Technical levels for gold show support at $2,724–2,698 and resistance at $2,762–2,784. For silver, support is seen at $32.25–32.05, with resistance at $32.70–32.90. In INR terms, gold has support at Rs 78,140–77,850 and resistance at Rs 78,740–78,980, while silver shows support at Rs 93,780–93,150 and resistance at Rs 95,300–95,980,” Kalantri added.
Gold is widely considered a hedge against geopolitical and economic uncertainties and typically thrives in a low-interest-rate environment.
Among other metals, spot silver fell 0.53% to $32.49 per ounce, platinum dropped 0.6% to $993.45, and palladium was down 2.17% at $1,052.25.
(With inputs from agencies)
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)