More Stories

Informist, Thursday, Mar. 13, 2025

By Sandeep Sinha

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of gold rose on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and the COMEX on Thursday, as concerns about a global trade war boosted safe-haven demand for gold. Positive sentiment for the precious metal was also supported by continued inflows into gold exchange-traded funds and the expectation of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

On Wednesday, GOLD holdings with SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed ETF, rose by 3.45 tonnes to 898.64 tonnes, the third straight day of inflows. The fund has a market value of $84.47 billion. On the National Stock Exchange, the total value of gold ETFs traded on Thursday was INR 1.94 billion, down from INR 2.27 billion on Wednesday.

"Gold neared a record high after cooler US inflation data suggested further Fed easing this year. Its 12% rise in 2025 is driven by global trade war dynamics," Saxo Bank said in a note.

At 1745 IST, the most-active April gold contract on the MCX was up 0.2% at INR 86,890 per 10 grams, after hitting a life high of INR 86,896 during the day. The most-active April gold contract on COMEX was up 0.3% at $2,955.20 per ounce. The highest call open interest was at INR 90,000 strike price, indicating a bullish view. The highest put open interest was at INR 86,000-INR 85,000 strikes for the Mar. 26 contract.

However, further gains were restricted due to a strong dollar, which makes commodities priced in the greenback expensive for those holding other currencies. At 1745 IST, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was up 0.2% at 103.82.

SILVER contracts fell taking cues from COMEX and because of weakness in industrial metals. At 1745 IST, the most-active May contract on the MCX was down 0.3% at INR 99,200 per kg. The same-month contract on COMEX was down 0.1% at $33.57 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 95,000 strike for the Apr. 24 expiry contract.

The MCX Bulldex, an index that tracks the real-time performance of gold and silver futures on the MCX, was up 53 points at 20758 points. The April and June gold contracts on the MCX recorded turnovers of INR 29.70 billion and INR 8.15 billion, respectively. The May and July silver contracts saw turnovers of INR 13.11 billion and INR 665.34 million, respectively.

The spot gold-silver ratio, also known as the Mint ratio, rose to 88.98 on Thursday, indicating that gold had outperformed silver. The ratio measures the ounces of silver required to buy an ounce of gold. The ratio was 88.33 on Wednesday.

Outlook for the rest of the session:

--MCX gold seen at INR 86,546–INR 87,138 per 10 gm

--COMEX gold seen at $2,885.0–$2,975.0 an ounce

--MCX silver seen at INR 98,565-INR 99,686 per kg

--COMEX silver seen at $31.50-$34.0 an ounce

End

US$1 = INR 86.99

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

Edited by Ashish Shirke

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. 2025. All rights reserved.