Gold price today: Yellow metal dips below Rs 44,600; silver near Rs 64,900

NEW DELHI: Gold and silver futures were trading lower on Friday as elevated Treasury yields and a firm US dollar dented bullion's appeal even as rising Covid-19 cases reduced risk appetite for investors.

US Treasury yields also jumped after the Treasury Department saw tepid interest for an auction of seven-year notes. Higher returns on Treasury bonds generally increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, while a strong dollar makes it expensive for non-US buyers.

Gold futures on MCX were down 0.24 per cent or Rs 109 at Rs 44,586 per 10 grams. Silver futures dipped 0.07 per cent or Rs 44 to Rs 64,825 per kg.


“Gold is rangebound as support from virus concerns, loose monetary policy stance of major central banks, selling pressure in Chinese equity markets is countered by weaker investor interest and general strength in the US dollar. Gold may witness choppy trade,” said Ravindra Rao, VP- Head Commodity Research at Kotak Securities.

In the spot market, Gold gained Rs 44 to Rs 44,347 per 10 gram in the national capital on Thursday, supported by weaker rupee and overnight gain in global precious metal prices. Silver, however, dipped Rs 637 to Rs 64,110 per kg.


Trading strategy
“We expect gold prices to trade sideways to down for the day with COMEX gold support at $1,710 per ounce and resistance at $1,740 per ounce. MCX Gold April futures support lies at Rs 44,500 and resistance at Rs 44,900 per 10 gram,” said Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities.

Global markets
Spot gold was flat at $1,726.96 per ounce by 0126 GMT on Friday. US gold futures were steady at $1,725.50 per ounce. The metal hit a one-week low of $1,721.46 in the previous session.

Silver rose 0.1 per cent to $25.05, holding above the over two-month low of $24.39 per ounce, which the metal hit on Thursday. Palladium rose 0.2 per cent to $2,614.51 and platinum fell 0.1 per cent to $1,146.11.