More Stories

Informist, Monday, Sep 16, 2024

By Sandeep Sinha

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of gold were flat on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and COMEX, ahead of the US Federal Reserve interest rate outcome on Wednesday. The yellow metal on Friday hit a fresh all-time high of $2,614.6 an oz in the international market on rising bets of aggressive policy easing by the Fed and safe-haven demand following an assassination attempt on former US president Donald Trump.

The profit-taking by traders at higher levels restricted the upside in gold, while weakness in the dollar kept the downside supported, analysts said. At 1828 IST, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was down 0.4% at 100.73. A weaker dollar makes commodities priced in the greenback attractive for holders of other currencies, boosting demand for precious metals.

"The weakening of the dollar has been pivotal in sustaining gold's bullish momentum. All eyes are on the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy meeting...where a 0.25% rate cut is expected, accompanied by a dovish stance," Jateen Trivedi, vice-president and research analyst at LKP Securities, said in an email note.

At 1830 IST, the most active October GOLD contract on the MCX was flat at 73,550 rupees per 10 gm. The most active December contract on COMEX was steady at $2,610 per oz. The highest call open interest for gold was at the 74,000-75,000 rupee strike price, suggesting a bullish view, while the highest put open interest was at the 71,000-rupee strike for the September 24 gold contract.

SILVER prices rose, taking positive cues from the COMEX, and a firm trend in industrial metals. At 1845 IST, the most active December contract of silver on MCX was up 1% at 90,099 rupees per kg. The same-month contract on COMEX was 0.9% higher at $31.37 per oz.

The MCX Bulldex, an index that tracks the real-time performance of gold and silver futures on the MCX, was up just 18 points at 18452 points. As of 1848 IST, the October and December gold contracts recorded turnovers of 21.93 bln rupees and 7.84 bln rupees, respectively, on MCX. The December and March contracts of silver saw turnovers of 17.97 bln rupees and 1.36 bln rupees, respectively.

The spot gold-silver ratio, also known as the Mint ratio, fell to 83.38, indicating that gold underperformed silver. The ratio measures the ounces of silver required to buy an ounce of gold. The ratio was 83.97 on Friday.

Outlook for the rest of the session:

--MCX gold seen at 73,100–73,900 rupees per 10 gm

--COMEX gold seen at $2,590.00–$2,618.90 an oz

--MCX silver seen at 89,300-91,300 rupees per kg

--COMEX silver seen at $30.85-$31.94 an oz

End

US$1 = 83.89 rupees

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Aditya Sakorkar

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2024. All rights reserved.