Gold price falls after 3 days; silver rates plunge to Rs 67,500

Gold, Silver prices in India on September 17: Prices of gold and silver were trading lower in Indian as well as international commodity markets on Thursday after three sessions of gains as the dollar strengthened overseas.

The dollar advanced after the Federal Reserve vowed to keep interest rates near zero for a prolonged period, at least until 2023. It however, stopped short of offering further on stimulus to shore up a battered US economy. The US central bank continued with its policy shift towards more inflation tolerance, earlier announced in August and said it would keep interest rates ultra-low to support the economy.

On the Multi-Commodity Exchange, Gold October Futures traded Rs 344 lower at Rs 51,480, after hitting an intraday low of Rs 51,279 against the previous close of Rs 51,824 per 10 gm. MCX gold futures currently trade almost Rs 4,912 lower than the lifetime high of Rs 56,191 per 10 gm, hit on August 7. On MCX, the yellow metal has risen 41.5% to life-time high since the beginning of the year.

Overseas, Spot gold was down 1.1% to $1,938.12 per ounce  while US gold futures slipped 1% to $1,951.30. Comex gold traded 0.74% lower at $1,945.7 per ounce. Silver dropped 1.8% to $26.73 per ounce.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, the dollar index rose to a more than one-week to 0.32 per cent to 93.51, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Federal Reserve on Wednesday pledged to keep interest rates low for a long time until inflation is on track to overshoot the US central bank's 2% target. The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England will also announce their respective policy decisions on Thursday.

Angel Broking in a note said, "Yesterday gold and silver prices were closed on a flat note. MCX Gold closed 0.11% higher at 51824 levels and silver prices closed 0.27% lower at 68781 levels. In international market gold is trading at $1938 per ounce and silver is trading at $26.75 per ounce."

Gold prices may fall below Rs 50,000 in coming days; should you buy or wait?

On the equity front, domestic benchmarks traded on a negative note on Thursday, on back of weak global equities amid rising concerns about economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The 30-share benchmark BSE Sensex traded 185 points lower at 39,120 and NSE Nifty 50 fell 65 points to 11,539.  

Markets fell globally after the US central bank kept a dovish policy, although hinted to be reluctant in adding stimulus in one of the world's largest economy, hit severely by the pandemic.  

Share Market News Live: Sensex drops 180 points, Nifty at 11,540; Axis Bank, SBI, NTPC top losers

Earlier this week, gold, that is used as a hedge against inflation and currency debasement gained on the back of a weak dollar. Rising coronavirus cases also kept boosting the appeal for safe-haven assets. Worldwide, total confirmed cases crossed a major threshold of 300.36 lakh and 9.45 lakh deaths from COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, India's death toll from COVID-19 infections rose to 0.83 lakh and total coronavirus cases to 51.18 lakh as of Thursday.

Gold price rises for third day; silver rates at Rs 69,100

In India, retail prices of gold were tad lower today. 24-carat bullion in the national capital traded at Rs 54,990 per 10 gram. Price of 24-carat gold stood at Rs 53,960 per 10 gram in Chennai. In Mumbai and Kolkata, the rate for 24-Carat gold stood at Rs 50,590 and 53,610, respectively.

Anuj Gupta - DVP- Commodities and Currencies Research, Angel Broking said, "Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates low for a long time but stopped short of offering further on stimulus to shore up a battered U.S. economy, and they also hold interest rates till 2023 with inflation never breaching 2% over the period. "

Stocks in news: Happiest Minds Tech, Jindal Stainless, HCL Tech, P&G Health, Oil India

Share market expectations: 7 things you need to know before opening bell on Thursday