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Informist, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026

 

By Reshma Ravi

 

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of gold on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and the COMEX fell on Thursday due to fading expectations of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. Market participants cautiously await US unemployment data on Thursday and consumer price index data on Friday for further cues on the US Fed's rate cut policy. 

 

At 1554 IST, the most-active April GOLD contract on the MCX was down 0.5% at INR 158,090 per 10 grams. The most-active April contract on COMEX was down 0.2% at $5,087.8 per ounce.

 

Gold prices eased Thursday as stronger-than-expected US labour data reduced expectations of near-term Federal Reserve easing, Manoj Jain, director, Prithvi Finmart, said. On Wednesday, data showed US jobs growth unexpectedly accelerated in January. Employers created 130,000 jobs in January, exceeding the 70,000 jobs projected by economists surveyed by Reuters. The unemployment rate declined to 4.3% in January from 4.4% in December. Market participants have pushed back their expectations of a Fed rate cut to July from June, an analyst at Kedia Advisory said.

 

However, the fall in prices is likely to be limited amid a rise in safe haven demand due to lingering geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, Jain said. The Pentagon has instructed a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare for deployment to West Asia as the US military readies for a potential attack on Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said he was considering sending another carrier to West Asia in preparation for military action if negotiations with Iran fail, the report said. Additionally, in the long term, gold is seen as bullish due to geopolitical tensions, weakness in the dollar index, and strong central bank demand, Jain said. 

 

SILVER contracts on the MCX and COMEX were also down Thursday, tracking losses in gold. At 1556 IST, the most-active March silver contract on the MCX was down 1% at INR 260,402 per kilogram, and the same contract on COMEX was down 0.8% at $83.25 per ounce.

 

Outlook for the rest of the session:

--MCX gold seen at INR 156,500–INR 160,000 per 10 grams

--COMEX gold seen at $5,020.0–$5,170.0 an ounce

--MCX silver seen at INR 258,000-INR 263,000 per kg

--COMEX silver seen at $81.00-$86.00 an ounce

 

End

 

US$1 = INR 90.59

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

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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