Gold, silver prices today: Gold prices spike to Rs 51,050, silver to Rs 56,300 after RBI's repo rate hike

Gold prices in the domestic market rose to Rs 51,050 for 10 gram of 24-carat gold just after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked interest rates during an announcement on Friday. Gold prices in India were at Rs 46,800 for 10 grams of 22-carat gold. The prices were slightly up during the early trade due to a weak dollar. It further got boosted after RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das hiked the interest rates, adding that the RBI is constantly monitoring the liquidity situation and will conduct variable repo rate auctions to infuse liquidity in the system the liquidity infusion will continue as per the situation demands. The yellow metal prices have been falling past few months due to recession fears and a strong greenback. 

In the previous trade, the yellow metal settled at Rs 50,620 per 10 gram of 24-carat gold. However, the silver prices were down at Rs 56,100 per kg from Rs 56,400. On Thursday, gold was trading at a level of Rs 50,103 per 10 grams on MCX while on the commodity platform, silver was trading at the level of Rs 56,415 per kg.

Also read: Gold, silver prices today: Gold rates up again to Rs 50,620, silver prices rise to Rs 56,400 amid pullback in dollar

In the international market, gold prices edged higher on Friday, supported by a pullback in the US dollar. The dollar index held near a one-week low touched on Thursday, making greenback-denominated gold less expensive for overseas buyers. Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at $1,663.79 per ounce, as of 0110 GMT. While prices are headed for their biggest weekly gain in seven, it is down 2.8 per cent for the month so far. US gold futures rose 0.3 per cent to $1,673.10.  

Domestic prices

In Mumbai and Kolkata, 24-carat gold is selling at Rs 50,620 per 10 gram, while 22-carat gold is trading at Rs 46,400, respectively. In Delhi, 24-carat and 22-carat gold are trading at Rs 50,780 and Rs 46,550 per 10 gm, respectively.

In Chennai, 24-carat and 22-carat gold is trading at Rs 51,050 and Rs 46,800, respectively. It is to be noted that gold prices vary from city to city and depend on taxes and duties levied by the state government.  

Gold futures and investment

Gold in the past has been considered a hedge against inflation. But since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war and a string of aggressive rate hikes by the US Fed to tame inflation, the yellow metal’s value has gone down on the non-yielding metal's appeal and lifted the dollar to a two-decade peak. Experts feel the situation is going to be more or less same as the US Fed is certain to bring in more rate hikes. Euro zone economic sentiment fell sharply and by more than expected in September, data showed on Thursday, as confidence dropped among companies and consumers, who are downbeat about price trends in the coming months.

In India, despite the festive season, the demand for gold and silver is muted mostly due to recession fears. As the RBI hiked the repo rate by 50 bps to 5.90 per cent on Friday, it remains to be seen how gold prices get affected in the domestic market. Though experts have pointed out that despite the yellow metal’s falling price in recent months, the yellow metal has outperformed most frontline asset classes even this year. Therefore, buyers and investors can look at gold ETFs, digital gold if they want to reap benefits in the long term.