Gold prices slipped in India today, mirroring a declining overseas trend. On MCX, August gold futures slipped 0.20% to 34,881 while the October contracts slid 0.2% to ₹35,164. August gold contracts had hit a record high of ₹35,145 last week.
The September silver contracts on MCX also slipped 0.2% to ₹38,312. In global markets spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,410.73 per ounce as better-than-expected key China data boosted appetite for riskier assets. Also weighing on gold prices, the dollar index inched higher on Monday against a basket of major currencies.
According to the All India Sarafa Association, in Delhi, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity fell ₹100 each to ₹35,470 and ₹35,300 per 10 gram, respectively.
Denting the bullion’s appeal, Asian shares advanced on Monday as encouraging Chinese data suggested the world’s second-biggest economy may be starting to stabilise due to ramped-up stimulus from Beijing. China’s June industrial output climbed 6.3% from a year earlier, beating a 5.2% forecast.
Many analysts still remain positive on gold as a hedge, citing tensions around US-China) trade talks and geopolitical concerns in the Middle East.
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Gold has been also supported by buying from central banks. Gold has been trading above key technical levels, supported by expectations of a rate cut by major central banks and lingering concerns about the global economy. The Chinese central bank increased its gold reserves for a seventh straight month in June, data showed. China is the world’s biggest consumer of the yellow metal.
The forex kitty of RBI continued to surge for the fourth successive week to scale a new lifetime high of $429.911 billion, after a heavy increase in the value of gold and currency assets during the week to July 5, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. The value of the gold reserves swelled by USD 1.345 billion, taking the total to $24.304 billion, according to the RBI data.
