Gold October futures commenced at Rs 1,12,600 per 10 grams, reflecting a modest decline of Rs 29 or 0.03% in the initial trading session on Friday. The nearly stagnant movement indicates a prudent stance among investors as they anticipate significant global economic indicators and monitor the demand for safe-haven assets in the precious metal sector. However, silver December futures contracts opened at Rs 1,36,725/kg today, reflecting a decrease of Rs 331 or 0.24%.
In the international market, gold prices experienced a decline on Friday as robust U.S. economic data raised concerns regarding the Federal Reserve’s prospects for rate cuts, thereby strengthening the dollar in anticipation of a significant U.S. inflation report scheduled for later in the day. Spot gold experienced a decline of 0.2%, settling at $3,741.21 per ounce as of 0147, despite an increase of 1.6% for the week to date. On Thursday, gold and silver concluded the trading session with gains in both domestic and international markets. The October futures contract for gold concluded at Rs 1,12,629 per 10 grams, reflecting a modest increase of 0.07%. Meanwhile, the December futures contract for silver settled at Rs 1,37,056 per kilogram, marking a more substantial gain of 2.28%. Gold and silver exhibit significant price volatility, having increased once more in response to the upward revision of the U.S. second-quarter GDP to 3.8% and the robustness of the dollar index.
The U.S. jobless claims decreased last week to 218,000, compared to anticipated claims of 233,000; however, this decline did not hinder the rally in gold and silver prices. On Thursday, Trump announced a new series of punitive tariffs on a wide array of imported goods, set to take effect on October 1. In the latest data released on Thursday, it was observed that weekly U.S. jobless claims experienced a decline. The second-quarter GDP expanded at a rate exceeding expectations, driven by robust consumer spending and significant business investment. “Gold prices are maintaining levels above $3,700 per troy ounce, while silver prices have surpassed $45 per troy ounce on a closing basis.” The gold and silver ratio has experienced a notable breakout, falling below 84, which suggests an increase in the strength of silver prices,” remarked Manoj Kumar. Jain indicated that silver is expected to revisit its prior peaks from 2011 and 1978 in the international markets in the forthcoming sessions. The U.S. dollar index remained close to a three-week peak, resulting in higher costs for overseas purchasers of dollar-denominated bullion.
Today, the US Dollar Index was hovering near the 98.39 mark, gaining 0.16 or 0.16%. In the meantime, Fed policymaker Stephen Miran has endorsed substantial rate cuts to protect the labor market, while minimizing the inflationary threats posed by tariffs. Safe-haven bullion typically exhibits strong performance in a low-interest-rate environment. “We expect gold and silver prices to remain volatile in today’s session amid fluctuations in the dollar index, instability in the global financial markets, and in anticipation of the U.S. core PCE price index data. Gold is projected to trade within the range of $3,717-3,810 per troy ounce, while silver is anticipated to trade between $44.40-45.80 per troy ounce in today’s session,” he added.