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Informist, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026

 

By Reshma Ravi

 

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of gold rose to a one-week high on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and the COMEX on Tuesday due to safe-haven demand amid rising geopolitical tensions between the US and Venezuela. Prices also rose on rising expectations of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve after weak economic data, analysts said. 

 

At 1639 IST, the most-active February GOLD contract on the MCX was up 0.3% at INR 138,585 per 10 grams. The most-active February contract on COMEX was up 0.2% at $4,459.7 per ounce. Earlier in the day, the gold contract on the MCX rose to a one-week high of INR 138,776 per 10 grams. On the COMEX, it rose to $4,486.0 per ounce. 

 

Spot gold of 99.9% purity was traded in the Mumbai market at INR 136,909 per 10 grams, up from INR 136,168 Monday, said Kumar Jain, spokesperson, India Bullion and Jewellers Association.

 

"Ongoing geopolitical risks, including heightened tensions around Russia–Ukraine and stricter US enforcement against Venezuela's oil trade, continue to underpin investor appetite for gold," Kedia Advisory said. US special forces captured Venezuela's long-time leader Nicolas Maduro over the weekend and brought him to New York to face drug trafficking charges. Maduro pleaded not guilty in a New York federal court on Monday. Geopolitical tensions remain elevated, potentially increasing safe-haven demand for gold, Manoj Jain, director, Prithvi Finmart, said.   

 

The ISM index for the US manufacturing sector disappointed in December, falling to a 14-month low. This put pressure on the US dollar and boosted expectations of Fed interest rate cuts, which means tailwinds for non-interest-bearing investments such as gold and silver. The US manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 47.9 in December, the lowest level since October 2024, from 48.2 in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PMI would be little changed at 48.4. 

 

Dovish comments from a Fed official boosted bets on an interest rate cut, analysts said. On Monday, Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said inflation was slowly moving down, but there was a risk that the jobless rate could "pop" higher. "I think the inflation risk is one of persistence, that these tariff effects take multiple years to work their way through the system, whereas I do think there's a risk that the unemployment rate could pop from here," Kashkari told CNBC in an interview. Market participants now await US non-farm payrolls data for December, due Friday, for cues on a rate cut. Typically, gold performs well in a low-interest-rate environment because it yields no interest.

 

SILVER contracts rose on the MCX and COMEX. At 1641 IST, the most-active March silver contract on the MCX was up 1% at INR 248,600 per kg. The most-active March contract on COMEX was up 1.2% at $77.55 per ounce. 

 

Outlook for the rest of the session:

--MCX gold seen at INR 136,000 –INR 140,000 per 10 grams

--COMEX gold seen at $4,400.0–$4,520.0 an ounce

--MCX silver seen at INR 246,000-INR 252,000 per kg

--COMEX silver seen at $76.80-$78.20 an ounce

End

 

US$1 = INR 90.17

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

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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