After a sharp rise in the past two days, Indian bullion market witnessed a dip in early trade on August 18 with the 24- carat version opening at Rs 47,448/10 gm down by only Rs 36 from previous close Rs 47,484/10 gm on August 17, according to the rate provided by the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA). On the other hand, 22 carat gold was trading at Rs 42,462/10 gm, down by Rs 1,033/10 gm. This is the highest-ever drop for 22 carat variant in a single day since March.
“The price of precious metal remains supported and traded within the narrow range with a overall bullish sentiments. The delta variant of Covid has started impacting major economies however gold prices are expected to drive by dollar performance and fed announcements in the near term,” said Sandeep Matta, founder, TRADEIT Investment Advisor.
“Gold on MCX also traded with mixed sentiments in the early hours and however seen some profit booking. The outlook for today is positive while we anticipate that gold is moving towards 47,500-48,000 level in near term,” added Matta.
After yesterday’s jump of more than Rs 930/kg, silver again witnessed a very slight drop in price on Wednesday again. On August 18, silver was trading at Rs 63,657/kg down by Rs 320 from the previous close of Rs 63,977/kg on yesterday.
“Gold and silver prices are trading weaker in midday dealings with gold seeing some normal pressure from recent good gains. A rally in the US dollar index today is also a negative for the metals markets,” said Amit Khare, AVP- research commodities, Ganganagar Commodities Limited.
He also added that, yesterday the US retail sales report for July came in down 1.1% from June and expected a further decline of 0.3%. The markets showed a good reaction to the news, but traders are wondering if the larger-than-expected decline in retail sales in July was due to worries about the resurgence of the Covid virus or not.
“On Tuesday, some profit booking was seen in bullion market from higher levels. We are seeing short covering rally in gold and silver since the past 3-4 trading sessions, which may continue for next few trading sessions. But drop in today’s price, especially the 22 carat variant, is a warning to all,” added Khare.