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Informist, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024

By Sandeep Sinha

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of gold were flat on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India, despite weak cues from COMEX. The yellow metal contracts were down on COMEX due to a rebound in the dollar. At 1455 IST, the Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was up 0.1% at 108.11. A firm greenback makes dollar-denominated precious commodities more expensive for those holding other currencies, adversely affecting demand.

"Gold prices are likely to see continued consolidation this week amid lack of fresh triggers as major participants are still away due to the New Year holiday in the international market, while upside in the bullion is limited due to a higher dollar," Pranav Mer, vice-president-research, commodity and currency, at JM Financial said in a note. 

The sentiment was also weighed by an outflow in gold exchange-traded funds. On Friday, gold holdings with SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed ETF, fell by 280 kilograms to 872.52 tonnes. The fund has a market value of $73.36 billion.

At 1455 IST, the most-active February GOLD contract on the MCX was steady at INR 76,538 per 10 grams. The most-active February contract on COMEX was down 0.2% at $2,627.90 per ounce. The highest call open interest for gold was at INR 77,000-INR 78,000 strike prices, suggesting a bullish view. The highest put open interest was at the INR 76,000-INR 75,000 strike for the Dec. 31 contract.

Trading volume in gold is likely to be on the lower side as many traders are away on holiday ahead of the New Year.

SILVER prices were flat, taking cues from COMEX, and a lack of fresh triggers. At 1500 IST, the most-active March contract of silver on the MCX was flat at INR 88,920 per kilogram. The same-month contract on COMEX was steady at $29.98 per ounce.

On the options front, the highest call open interest was at the INR 100,000 strike price. The highest put open interest was at INR 90,000 strike for the Feb. 24 expiry contract.

As of 1500 IST, the February and April gold contracts recorded turnovers of INR 15.17 billion and INR 1.00 billion, respectively, on the MCX. The March and May silver contracts saw turnover of INR 6.46 billion and INR 245.10 million, respectively.

The spot gold-silver ratio, also known as the Mint ratio, fell to 88.84 on Monday, indicating that gold underperformed silver. The ratio measures the ounces of silver required to buy an ounce of gold. The ratio was 89.24 on Friday.

Outlook for the rest of the session:

--MCX gold seen at INR 76,247–77,010 per 10 gm

--COMEX gold seen at $2,610.0–$2,652.0 an ounce

--MCX silver seen at INR 88,285-89,870 per kg

--COMEX silver seen at $29.75-$30.33 an ounce

End

US$1 = INR 85.56

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

Edited by Saji George Titus

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