Gold, silver prices ease on MCX as dollar strengthens

Mumbai, Oct 31 (IANS) The prices of precious metals slipped in early trade on Friday, with gold and silver prices declining on the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX), mirroring weakness in international markets amid a stronger US dollar.

Gold futures on MCX opened 0.29 per cent lower at Rs 1,21,148 per 10 grams, compared with Thursday’s close of Rs 1,21,508. Silver futures also began the session 0.47 per cent down at Rs 1,48,140 per kg, tracking losses in global spot prices.

However, it recovered a bit in the early hours as around 11:38 a.m., the future gold contract expiring on December 5 was trading at Rs 1,21,557 per 10 grams, up 0.04 per cent, while the silver future contract was trading flat at Rs 1,48,747 per kg. The early decline was seen as traders booked profits ahead of key US economic data.

In the International market, spot gold fell 0.5 per cent to $4,004 per ounce in the morning, pressured by a firm dollar and fading expectations of early rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. US gold futures for December delivery were largely unchanged at $4,016.70 per ounce.

Despite Friday's drop, gold, which increased by almost 3.9 per cent in October, is still on pace to gain for a third consecutive month. The US dollar index was still trading close to its three-month high, which hurt sentiment in precious metals generally and made bullion less appealing to holders of other currencies.

Meanwhile, the stock market opened flat amid mixed global cues, as US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, agreed to ease the trade conflict for a year only.

The Sensex started the session at 84,379.79, down 25 points against the last session's closing of 84,404.46. Nifty opened 14 points lower at 25,863.80. However, both the indices turned green in a while amid buying in automobile and banking heavyweights.

"The Trump-Xi summit delivered only a one-year truce in the US-China trade war, not a breakthrough trade deal. To that extent, market participants were disappointed at the outcome, even though there is relief in the declining trade tensions and possible movement towards further progress," analysts said.

--IANS

aps/rad