NEW DELHI: Gold and silver futures were trading flat on Wednesday as the dollar stood firm, with investors eyeing the outcome of the US Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting for its outlook on the economy.
A spate of volatility in money markets has stoked speculation that the US central bank may be forced into a technical adjustment to the levers controlling its benchmark interest rate to ensure that it does not fall too low, but few expect it to act on the matter at this week’s meeting.
Gold futures on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) were up 0.23 per cent or Rs 104 at Rs 44,917 per 10 grams. Silver futures advanced 0.02 per cent or Rs 13 to Rs 66,932 per kg.
“Gold is choppy ahead of the Fed decision later today. Support from Europe’s vaccination concerns, Chinese equity market sell-off and US stimulus deal is countered by weaker investor interest and higher bond yields. Gold may remain choppy ahead of Fed decision however general bias may be on the upside amid expectations that Fed and other central banks may maintain dovish stance,” said Ravindra Rao – Head – Commodity Research – Kotak Securities.
In the spot market, gold rose marginally by Rs 45 to Rs 44,481 per 10 gram in the national capital on Tuesday. Likewise, silver also gained Rs 116 to Rs 66,740 per kilogram.
Trading strategy
“We expect gold prices to trade sideways to up for the day with COMEX gold support at $1,710 and resistance at $1,740/1,760 per ounce. MCX Gold April futures support lies at Rs 44,500 and resistance at Rs 45,100 per 10 gram,” said Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities.
Global markets
Spot gold was little changed at $1,730.82 per ounce by 0127 GMT, having risen to $1,740.90 in the last session, its highest since March 1. US gold futures fell about 0.1 per cent to $1,729.60 per ounce.
Palladium jumped about 5 per cent and scaled to a one-year high of $2,520.31 in the preceding session.
Silver fell 0.7 per cent to $25.77, platinum slid 0.5 per cent to $1,206 and palladium slipped 0.2 per cent to $2,494.05.