Gold prices remain steady; silver declines Rs 400

New Delhi: Gold prices remained flat at Rs 74,350 per 10 grams in the national capital on Wednesday in scattered deals even as it weakened in the overseas markets.

Silver prices, however, declined Rs 400 to Rs 87,800 per kilogram. It had ended at Rs 88,200 per kg in the previous session on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, gold of 99.5 per cent purity also ruled flat at Rs 74,000 per 10 grams. Traders attributed the fall in silver price due to poor offtake by industrial units and global influences.

In the international markets, comex gold is trading at USD 2,542.20 per ounce, down USD 10.70 per ounce or 0.42 per cent. "Gold prices were slightly lower during European trading hours on Wednesday, due to a rebound in the US dollar," Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst of Commodities at HDFC Securities, said.

According to Kaynat Chainwala, AVP-Commodity Research, Kotak Securities, comex gold is trading above USD 2,500 per ounce, supported by the FOMC meeting minutes, which reinforced expectations of a September rate cut.

Rising geopolitical tensions, particularly the escalating Israel-Hezbollah conflict, also bolstered gold prices as a safe-haven asset, Chainwala said.

Silver was also quoting lower at USD 29.93 per ounce in the global markets. In the previous week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell in his comments in Jackson Hole Symposium also signalled a rate cut in the next meeting, supporting bullion prices.

With bullion holding above the critical USD 2,500 per-ounce mark, gold is on track for its best performance since 2020, buoyed by optimism surrounding the potential US rate cuts and ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Prathamesh Mallya, DVP-Research, Non-Agri Commodities and Currencies, Angel One, said.

As per Navneet Damani, Group Senior VP of Commodity Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, investors are awaiting the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index data, a key inflation report and the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, scheduled for Friday, that can provide new insights into US economic health and further direction for the gold prices.

Inputs from PTI