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Informist, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025

By Reshma Ravi

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of gold and silver on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India fell on Wednesday, tracking losses on the COMEX amid a firm dollar. Market sentiment was also hurt after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange announced it would raise margins on precious metal futures. 

At 1700 IST, the dollar index, which measures the strength in the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.1% at 98.34. A firm dollar makes commodities priced in the currency, such as gold and silver, less appealing for those holding other currencies, thereby denting demand.

At 1713 IST, the most-active February GOLD contract on the MCX was down 1% at INR 135,150 per 10 grams. The most-active February gold contract on COMEX was down 1% at $4,324.5 per ounce. At 1714 IST, the most-active March SILVER contract on the MCX was down 6% at INR 236,714 per kilogram and the March silver contract on COMEX was down 8% at $71.45 per ounce.

Bullion prices fell after CME Group announced it would raise margins for the precious metals, said Manoj Jain, director, Prithvi Finmart. Bullion prices fell after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange announced it would raise margins on precious metal futures for the second time in a week. The group has increased the margin for silver futures by 30% from $25,000 to $32,500, and for gold by 9% from $22,000 to $24,000, it said in a release. The higher margins for gold and silver contracts will take effect after trading ends on Wednesday. The move follows a review of "market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage," the group said.    

However, the fall in prices is limited and they are likely to rise again after two to three sessions due to ongoing geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, said Manoj Jain, director, Prithvi Finmart. Russia said it will toughen its position in peace talks after accusing Kyiv of attacking the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, an allegation Kyiv dismissed as baseless and said was designed to undermine peace negotiations.  

Additionally, "Bullion has staged a stellar rally in 2025, climbing 66% so far, in what looks to be its largest annual gain since 1979, the year of the Iranian revolution. Interest rate cuts and bets of further easing by the US Federal Reserve, geopolitical conflicts, robust demand from central banks, and rising holdings in exchange-traded funds have fuelled gold's rally this year," SMC Global Securities said in a report.

Outlook for the rest of the session:

--MCX gold seen at INR 133,000–INR 137,500 per 10 grams

--COMEX gold seen at $4,260.0–$4,380.0 an ounce

--MCX silver seen at INR 234,000-INR 239,000 per kg

--COMEX silver seen at $69.60-$72.50 an ounce

End

US$1 = INR 89.87 

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

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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