Gold edges higher from 8-month low - The Economic Times

Gold edges higher from 8-month low - The Economic Times

Gold edges higher from 8-month low

Gold futures edged higher on Tuesday recovering partly from their last week's lowest level in eight months, driving away importers amid liquidity crunch ahead of the financial year-end.

The government has been trying to curb imports of gold, which has been called a dead investment by the federal government, to put a lid on record high current account deficit by hiking import duty by 50 percent to 6 percent in January.

At 0640 GMT, the actively traded gold contract for April delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was 0.18 percent higher at 29,373 rupees ($540) per 10 grams, helped by gains in overseas markets. The contract hit a low of 29,111 rupees last week, a level last seen on July 20.

The rupee, which traded stronger, limited the upside. The rupee plays an important role in determining the landed cost of the dollar-quoted yellow metal.

Overseas gold inched up on physical buying in Asia, but it struggled to break above a recent range as improved economic outlook and a stock market rally capped sentiment for the precious metal.

Silver contract for May delivery on the MCX was 0.15 percent higher at 54,677 rupees per kg.

Source : The Economic Times

Gold importers wait for attractive price levels

Gold importers wait for attractive price levels - The Economic Times

Gold importers in the country, the world's biggest buyer, waited for attractive price levels ahead of the wedding season next month, as a stronger rupee weighed on the yellow metal.

Weddings and festivals season will re-start in April and continue untill the first week of June. The rupee, which continued to rise on Thursday, plays an important role in determining the landed cost of the dollar-quoted yellow metal.

"Rupee will remain the dominating factor for local prices of Gold I doubt if there will be any big appreciation on the rupee front, so gold sales will be subdued," said a dealer with a private bullion importing bank.

As of 1001 GMT, the most-active gold contract for April delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was 0.22 percent lower at 29,529 rupees per 10 grams.

Silver for May delivery on the MCX was 0.09 percent higher at 55,017 rupees per kg.

Source : The Economic Times

Gold futures up on global cues

Gold futures up on global cues - The Economic Times

Gold futures prices today rose by 0.23 per cent to Rs 29,660 per 10 grams as speculators enlarged their positions, driven by a firming trend in the Asian region.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, Gold for delivery in April rose by Rs 67, or 0.23 per cent, to Rs 29,660 per 10 gm in business turnover of 929 lots.

The metal for delivery in the June moved up by Rs 63, or 0.21 per cent, to Rs 30,200 per 10 gm in a turnover of 35 lots.

Market analysts said a firming trend in the global market mainly influenced gold futures here

Meanwhile, gold rose by 38 cents higher at USD 1,584.28 an ounce in Singapore in early trade today.

Source : The Economic Times

Gold down by Rs 35 on weak demand, global cues

Gold down by Rs 35 on weak demand, global cues - The Economic Times

Continuing a downward march for the third straight session, gold prices today lost Rs 35 to Rs 30,010 per 10 grams here due to subdued demand from retailers amid a weak global trend.

Silver also declined by Rs 300 to Rs 55,150 per kg on reduced offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Traders said besides subdued demand, weak global trend mainly kept pressure on gold prices for third straight day.

Rising equity market also lured investor to parked their funds for quick gains and reduced gold demand, they said.

Reduced offtake by industrial units and coin makers helped silver prices to surrendered fresh ground, they added.

In London, gold traded lower by 0.04 per cent to USD 1,574.70 an ounce and silver by 0.24 per cent to USD 28.63 an ounce.

On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity fell further by Rs 35 each at Rs 30,010 and Rs 29,810 per 10 grams, respectively. It has lost Rs 135 in last two sessions. Sovereigns remained steady at Rs 25,300 per piece of eight grams in restricted buying.

In line with a general weak trend, silver ready fell by Rs 300 to Rs 55,150 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 190 to Rs 54,860 per kg. The white metal had gained Rs 250 yesterday.

Silver coins followed suit and plunged by Rs 1,000 to Rs 81,000 for buying and Rs 82,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

Source : The Economic Times

Gold snaps 4-day fall on prospects of further easing - The Economic Times

Gold snaps 4-day fall on prospects of further easing - The Economic Times

Gold snaps 4-day fall on prospects of further easing

Gold prices rose on Tuesday, snapping four days of losses, as expectations that central banks would opt to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy this week helped push European stocks to a two-year high and weighed on the dollar.

Successive rounds of quantitative easing and similar monetary stimulus measures have kept liquidity high and interest rates low in the United States, the euro zone and Japan in recent years, fuelling a rally in gold prices.

Hopes that stimulus would continue were boosted by comments from Federal Reserve official Janet Yellen on Monday, as well as expectations new economic forecasts in the euro zone could open the way to looser policy from the European Central Bank (ECB).

Spot gold was up 0.5 percent at $1,581.84 an ounce at 1104 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for April delivery were up $9.50 an ounce at $1,581.90.

ECB policymakers meet in Frankfurt on Thursday as political deadlock in Italy fuels fears the euro zone crisis could reignite. The bank is likely to hold off quick-fire action, but could hint at looser policy in future.

The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England are also set to hold two-day monetary policy meetings from Wednesday.

SPDR SEES FRESH OUTFLOW Appetite for gold-backed exchange-traded funds remained soft, with the largest, New York's SPDR Gold Shares, reporting a ninth straight daily outflow of metal on Monday, this time of 0.6 tonnes.

The fund reported its largest ever monthly outflow last in February and has seen holdings fall by 97.5 tonnes since the start of the year, compared to a 39-tonne rise in the same period of 2012.

Buying in key Asian physical markets has also been hurt by recent price volatility, dealers said.

Bank of America-Merrill Lynch cut its gold price forecasts on Tuesday, saying it now sees gold at $1,680 an ounce this year, against a previous forecast of $1,805, and at $1,838 in 2014, against $2,038. It slashed its 2015 forecast by more than 10 percent to $1,675 an ounce, from $1,900.

Among other precious metals, silver was up 1.2 percent at $28.87 an ounce. Spot platinum was up 1 percent at $1,580.24 an ounce, while spot palladium was up 1 percent at $721.90 an ounce.

Platinum prices rose sharply after news of fresh labour unrest at the world's number three platinum miner Lonmin , which said on Tuesday around 6,000 workers at its Marikana mine had gone on an illegal strike.

However, it swiftly retraced as news broke that the strike had been resolved.

The Economic Times