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Informist, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026

 

By Reshma Ravi

 

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of gold and silver rose on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and the COMEX on Wednesday due to buying on dips following a slide in the last two sessions, analysts said. However, the gains in the precious metals are likely to be capped as trading volumes are thin because markets in China and several other Asian countries were shut for the Lunar New Year holidays. 

 

"...Asian volumes remain muted across major markets due to ongoing Lunar New Year holidays (till Feb. 23), limiting liquidity and risking short-term swings in precious metals," Kaynat Chainwala, assistant vice president of Kotak Securities, said in a note.

 

At 1617 IST, the most-active April GOLD contract on the MCX was up 0.8% at INR 152,650 per 10 grams. The most-active April contract on the COMEX was up 0.6% at $4,933.4 per ounce. The most-active March SILVER contract on the MCX was up 3% at INR 236,332 per kilogram, and the same-month contract on the COMEX was up 3% at $75.65 per ounce.

 

In Mumbai, the spot price of gold of 99.9% purity was INR 151,963 per 10 grams on Wednesday, up from INR 151,195 per 10 grams on Tuesday, said Kumar Jain, spokesperson for the India Bullion and Jewellers Association.

 

Meanwhile, market participants await minutes of the US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee's January meeting, due later in the day, for further cues on the Federal Reserve's rate cut path this year. Markets currently expect the Fed to cut interest rates in June. "In the near term, expectations around rate cuts remain key, lower borrowing costs would support non-yielding assets like gold," Dow Jones quoted Soojin Kim from MUFG as saying. According to the CME FedWatch tool, 50.2% traders are now pricing in a 25-basis-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve in June, up from 44.5% a month ago. Typically, gold performs well in a low-interest rate environment as it is a non-interest yielding asset.  

 

Gains in previous metal prices are likely to be capped as geopolitical uncertainty eased on progress in US-Iran talks, analysts said. Iran has said it has reached an understanding with the US on the main "guiding principles" to resolve their dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme, the BBC reported. Speaking after indirect talks in Geneva, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi added that work still needed to be done. The US said "progress was made" in talks, the report said. 

 

Outlook for the rest of the session:

--MCX gold seen at INR 151,000–INR 154,500 per 10 grams

--COMEX gold seen at $4,860.0–$4,980.0 an ounce

--MCX silver seen at INR 230,000-INR 242,000 per kg

--COMEX silver seen at $72.00-$78.00 an ounce

End

 

US$1 = INR 90.67

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

 

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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