New Delhi: Gold prices came under pressure on Tuesday. MCX Gold Futures for most active February contract opened negative at 47,900 per 10 grams, marginally down by 14 from previous close.Silver prices tracked broader weak sentiment in the bullion.
MCX silver futures for March contract opened at 61,221 a kg, lower by 49 from previous close.India gold and silver reflected the weak trends in the international bullion, which edged lower primarily on account of the strengthening of the US Dollar and the US Treasury yields. But the slide in the precious metals was contained due to the concerns on the Chinese economy and uncertainty around the global spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
CME Gold Futures for the most active February contract was last quoted at $ 1778 an oz (oz is equal to approx 28.3 grams), which is $1.5 lower from the prior settle of $ 1779.5. Notably, Comex Gold has shown steady improvement from its multi-week lows of $ 1762.2 quoted on December 2.
The slow but steady recovery is backed by the global economic uncertainties following the Omicron spread. CME Silver March Futures opened firm at $ 22.395 an oz, higher than previous close of $ 22.300. Prices have recovered from the multi-week lows of $ 22.035 recorded on Friday, levels last seen on October 1.
After nearly flat opening, MCX Gold Futures started sliding as equities showed remarkable improvement. MCX Gold February was last quoted at 47,829, lower by 85 from previous close. The Open interest for the February contract was 9,188 lots, about 15 lots higher than previous close. MCX Silver Futures too slipped after making nearly flat opening. MCX Silver March was down by Rs 69 from previous close and last quoted at 61,201. Open interest increased to 13,294 lots, higher by 20 lots from from previous position. Amidst weakness in physical demand, spot gold remained under pressure. Ahmedabad spot gold was last quoted at ₹47,690 lower from 48,031 quoted on November 30.
Spot silver was last quoted at 60,755, losing by about ₹5,000 from 65,798 quoted on November 22. The instability of prices and global weakness in the precious metals kept buyers unsure of making fresh purchases.
