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Informist, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025

By Sandeep Sinha

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of gold fell on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India on Friday, tracking a fall on the Commodity Exchange Inc. because of a rebound in the dollar and profit-taking at higher levels. Sentiment for the yellow metal was also hurt by outflows from gold-exchange traded funds and weak safe-haven demand as Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire agreement.

At 1546 IST, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was up 0.1% at 109.06. A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated precious commodities more expensive for those holding other currencies, dulling demand.

On Thursday, gold holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed ETF, fell 3.74 tonnes to 868.78 tonnes. The fund has a market value of $75.84 billion. On the National Stock Exchange, the total value of gold ETFs traded Friday was INR 1.03 billion, down from INR 1.29 billion Thursday.

At 1546 IST, the most-active February GOLD contract on the MCX fell 0.5% to INR 78,799 per 10 grams. The most-active February contract on the COMEX was 0.7% lower at $2,730.50 per ounce. The highest call open interest for gold was at INR 79,000-INR 80,000 strike prices, suggesting a bullish view. The highest put open interest was at the INR 77,000-INR 76,000 strikes for the Jan. 27 contract.

For further cues, investors are looking forward to US building permits, housing starts, and industrial production data that will be released later in the day.

SILVER contracts traded lower taking cues from COMEX and a weak trend in gold. At 1550 IST, the most-active March contract on the MCX was down 1.2% at INR 91,700 per kilogram. The same-month contract on the COMEX was 1.7% lower at $31.19 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.

The MCX Bulldex, an index that tracks the real-time performance of gold and silver futures on the MCX, was down 136 points at 19,137. Until 1552 IST, the February and April gold contracts recorded a turnover of INR 19.61 billion and INR 10.90 billion, respectively. The March and May silver contracts saw a turnover of INR 12.62 billion and INR 773.60 million, respectively.

The spot gold-silver ratio, also known as the Mint ratio, rose to 88.83 on Friday, indicating that gold had outperformed silver. The ratio measures the ounces of silver required to buy an ounce of gold. The ratio was 87.71 on Thursday.

Outlook for the rest of the session:

--MCX gold seen at INR 78,495–INR 79,430 per 10 gm

--COMEX gold seen at $2,704.23–$2,763.07 an ounce

--MCX silver seen at INR 91,400-INR 92,450 per kg

--COMEX silver seen at $30.99-$31.44 an ounce

End

US$1 = INR 86.61

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

Edited by Nishant Maher

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