India Bullion: Down tracking COMEX as firm dollar curbs demand

Informist, Friday, Feb 3, 2023

By Sayantan Sarkar

MUMBAI – GOLD and SILVER contracts on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India fell tracking COMEX  contracts as the US dollar rose against a basket of major currencies. A stronger dollar makes commodities priced in the greenback more expensive for holders of other currencies, diminishing demand. 

* In the domestic market, a sharp appreciation in the rupee against the dollar also weighed on bullion prices as a stronger Indian currency makes imports of the commodities cheaper. 

* Gold and silver prices also fell due to some profit booking by investors after rates surged in the last two sessions. On Wednesday, the government raised the import duty of silver and silver dore to align them with the duty structure of gold. The overall import duty on gold was kept unchanged.

* The gem and jewellery industry had expected the government to cut the import duty on gold. The higher import duty is expected to make gold and silver jewellery more expensive in the coming weeks. 

* Additionally, the market will keep an eye on the release of the non-farm payroll figures from the US later today. The figures indicate the number of employed person in the US economy. A negative number could push up prices of gold as it is considered a safe-haven asset. 

* The US will also release its unemployment rate from last month, which is also a major trigger for gold prices. 

* “Going by the ADP (National Employment Report) employment numbers, investors might expect weakness in non-farm payrolls, and we might see some recovery in gold prices during the day session,” said Ravindra V. Rao, head of commodity research at Kotak Securities.

* At 1500 IST, the most-active contracts of bullion were:

  –April gold was down 0.1% at 57,717 rupees per 10 gm on MCX

  –April gold was down 0.1% at $1,929 an ounce on COMEX

  –March silver was down 0.2% at 70,065 rupees per kg on MCX

  –-March silver was down 0.1% at $23.58 an ounce on COMEX

* Outlook for the evening session by Angel One Commodities:

  –MCX gold seen at 57,720–58,160 rupees per 10 gm

  –COMEX gold seen at $1,901–$1,958 an ounce

  –MCX silver seen at 69,480-70,970 rupees per kg

  –COMEX silver seen at $23.12-$23.97 an ounce

End

US$1 = 81.82 rupees

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

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Source: Cogencis