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Informist, Tuesday, May 26, 2026

 

By Reshma Ravi

 

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of gold and silver on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and COMEX fell Tuesday after fresh US strikes on Iran dampened the recent optimism about a potential peace deal between the two sides, analysts said. The attacks pushed oil prices higher, fuelling concern about a rise in inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates.

 

At 1815 IST, the most active June contract of GOLD was down 0.8% at INR 157,794 per 10 grams on the MCX. The same-month contract on COMEX was down 0.3% at $4,511.1 per ounce. The most active July SILVER contract on the MCX was down 2.4% at INR 274,727 per kilogram, and the same-month contract on COMEX was down 0.1% at $76.30 per ounce.

 

Precious metals had gained in the previous session, especially after several reports showed the US and Iran were close to a framework deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Manoj Jain, director of Prithvi Finmart, said. However, reports Tuesday showed the US had carried out fresh military strikes against Iran, denting the prospects of a peace deal between the two countries. This weighed on gold and silver prices, Jain added.

 

The US military said it attacked missile launch sites and mine-laying vessels in southern Iran, in what a US military spokesperson described as "self-defence". The strikes came as Iran's top negotiator and its foreign minister were in Doha, Qatar, for talks with Qatar's prime minister on a potential deal with the US to end the three-month-long war. "US military operations in southern Iran and ongoing peace negotiations will keep investors cautious about inflation risks," ICICI Direct said in a report. 

 

Brent Crude futures rose 2% Tuesday on the reports. Higher crude oil prices can accelerate inflation and keep ‌interest rates higher for longer. "While gold is seen as a hedge against inflation, higher rates tend to weigh on the non-yielding metal," SMC Global Securities said in a report. Markets are pricing in a US Federal Reserve rate hike before the end of the year, with a 41.1% chance of a 25-basis-point hike in December, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

 

Market participants now await the US personal consumption expenditures data for April, due Thursday, for further cues on US monetary policy.

 

Outlook for the rest of the session:

--MCX gold seen at INR 156,500–INR 159,000 per 10 grams

--COMEX gold seen at $4,480–$4,560 an ounce

--MCX silver seen at INR 266,500-INR 274,800 per kg

--COMEX silver seen at $72.00-$80.00 an ounce

 

End

 

US$1 = INR 95.68

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

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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