Gold tumbles Rs 1,000 to Rs 79,400 per 10 gm; silver plunges Rs 1,600

NEW DELHI: Gold prices tumbled Rs 1,000 to slip below the Rs 80,000 level in the national capital on Monday amid weak global trends, according to local marketmen.

The precious metal of 99.9 per cent purity tanked Rs 1,000 to Rs 79,400 per 10 grams against the previous close of Rs 80,400 on Friday.

Silver declined Rs 1,600 to Rs 91,700 per kg. The metal finished at Rs 93,300 per kg on Friday.

The price of gold with 99.5 per cent purity plunged Rs 1,000 to Rs 79,000 per 10 grams. The yellow metal had settled at Rs 80,000 per 10 grams in the previous session on Friday.

"Gold witnessed a sharp decline of more than Rs 1,000 below Rs 76,500, as the war premium faded, with no fresh geopolitical escalations over the weekend to sustain the rally," Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst of Commodity and Currency at LKP Securities, said.

Last week's strong surge in MCX and Comex prices prompted profit booking, leading to the unwinding of long positions. This week, traders will await weekly jobless claims and the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes, which will more direction for the yellow metal, Trivedi added.

Meanwhile, in futures trade on the MCX, gold contracts for December delivery plunged Rs 1,071 or 1.38 per cent to trade at Rs 76,545 per 10 grams. It closed at Rs 77,616 per 10 grams in the previous trading session.

Silver contracts for December delivery declined Rs 1,468 or 1.62 per cent to Rs 89,300 per kg against the previous close of Rs 90,768 per kg on Friday.

Last week, the yellow metal went beyond the USD 2,700 mark due to the worsening conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

On Monday, Comex gold futures fell USD 40.80 per ounce or 1.49 per cent to USD 2,696.40 per ounce in the global markets.

"Gold resumed trading on a weaker note and fell below USD 2,700 per ounce on Monday, as traders took profit following nearly a 6 per cent rally last week, fuelled by safe-haven demand amid rising tensions in the Russia-Ukraine crisis," Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst of Commodities at HDFC Securities, said.

In the Asian market hours, silver also quoted 1.7 per cent lower at USD 31.24 per ounce.

According to Maneesh Sharma, AVP - Commodities & Currencies, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers, gold fell over one per cent on Monday amid reports that Israel was close to reaching a ceasefire with Lebanon's Hezbollah.

However, much of the renewed upside this week depends on the developments in the Russia-Ukraine, where investors are advised to remain vigilant amid any escalation could lead to renewed short-covering moves in gold.

Focus to remain on dollar strength amid macroeconomic data, including the US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index would be crucial on cues for inflation in the near term, which could cap a sharp upside in the near term, Sharma said.