Spot gold prices down as geopolitical tensions, bets of Fed rate cut ease
This story was originally published at 14:23 IST on 16 January 2026
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MUMBAI – Spot gold prices opened lower Friday tracking the fall in futures contracts on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India as bets of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve diminished due to stronger than expected US unemployment data. Prices also fell as tensions between the US and Iran eased.
In the Mumbai spot market, price of gold of 99.9% purity was INR 141,717 per 10 grams, down from INR 142,152 per 10 grams on Wednesday, said Kumar Jain, spokesperson for the India Bullion and Jewellers Association. "As of now, there is no discount or premium in gold prices," Jain said. Markets were shut Thursday on account of civic elections in Maharashtra.
"The downward move (in gold) began predominantly when there was some... (lowering of) the odds of some kind of intervention by the United States in the social unrest in Iran... (and) we're seeing data come through from the US, it shows that there's not an urgency to cut interest rates," Kyle Rodda, an analyst at Capital.com, was quoted as saying by Reuters. Data released by the US Labour Department Thursday showed initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US dropped 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 198,000 in the week ended Saturday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the claims at 215,000.
Easing geopolitical tensions also weighed on the safe-haven appeal of gold. People in Iran said protests appeared to have abated since Monday. US President Donald Trump also struck a softer tone regarding military intervention in the country. "A slight easing in geopolitical tensions has helped temper immediate safe-haven demand," Kudotrade's Konstantinos Chrysikos was quoted as saying in an email by Dow Jones. End
Reported by Reshma Ravi
Edited by Ashish Shirke
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