After hitting a record high, gold prices declined for the second day in a row

 

• Gold prices in India down almost ₹400 from all-time high

Gold prices in India declined for the second consecutive day after hitting a record high earlier this week. On MCX, bullion futures fell 0.3% to ₹561.63 per 10 grams. On Monday, the precious metal had hit a high of ₹56,562, tracking the firm's global rates. Silver futures in the Indian market today was flat at Rs 69,221 per kg. In global markets, gold today fell 0.3% to $1,902.79 an ounce, under pressure from a stronger US dollar which makes gold more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.

The dollar index was up 0.25% at 102.403 today. The Japanese yen fell and bonds posted their biggest rally in two decades after the country's central bank stuck to its ultra-easy monetary policy, defying expectations that it would begin phasing out its massive stimulus program. will do it.

"Gold prices edged lower as the dollar ticked up, while investors still sought direction from the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hike path. The dollar index rose, making gold more expensive for overseas buyers, While the benchmark 10-year yield also moved up," said Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities, Mehta Equities Ltd.

Investors will be keeping an eye on US producer price index (PPI) and retail sales data later in the day. The US central bank raised rates by 75 basis points (bps) four times last year, before slowing the hike to 50-bp in December. Traders are mostly pricing in a 25 bps hike at the Fed's next policy meeting. Low interest rates are beneficial to bullion, reducing the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding asset.

In global markets, spot silver today declined by 0.1 per cent to USD 23.90 an ounce.

“We expect gold and silver to remain volatile in today's session. Gold has support at $1892-1880 while resistance is at $1924-1940. Silver has taken support at $23.75-23.50, while resistance lies at $24.22-24.40. In rupee terms, gold has taken support at Rs 56,110-55,780, while resistance lies at Rs 56,580-56,710. Silver has support near Rs 68,550-68,120, while resistance lies near Rs 69,620-70,080.

Jatin Trivedi, VP Research Analyst, LKP Securities, said that the strengthening of the dollar could lead to profit-booking in gold. “Gold may enter profit-booking phase on rising dollar index as dollar index has priced in weakness in US inflation. He said that gold in MCX can be seen in the range of 56,000-56,700 in the near term.