Mumbai, February 12 (IANS). For the last few days, huge fluctuations have been seen in the commodity market. After the huge fall on Tuesday, there was a strong rise in precious metals in Wednesday’s trading session. There was a slight decline in the prices of gold and silver in Thursday’s session, the main reason for which was said to be the strengthening of the US dollar.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold for April delivery fell to the day’s low of Rs 1,57,701 per 10 grams. Whereas silver for March delivery also fell to the day’s low of Rs 2,58,730 per kg.
However, till the time of writing the news (about 11.51 am), gold with expiry of April 2 was down by about 0.24 percent i.e. Rs 378 on MCX at Rs 1,58,377 per 10 grams, while silver with expiry of March 5 was trading at Rs 2,62,003 per kg, down 0.39 percent i.e. Rs 1,015.
The dollar index rose from 96.83 to 96.94 in early trade. The dollar strengthened due to strong employment data from the US. When the dollar strengthens, precious metals like gold and silver become expensive for other countries, which may reduce their demand.
Experts said that in January, jobs in America increased more than expected and the unemployment rate decreased to 4.3 percent, which indicates that the labor market there is strong. With this, the US Central Bank (Fed) can keep interest rates unchanged for some time.
Manav Modi, analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said job growth was the highest in the last 13 months, but according to the revised data, only 1,81,000 jobs were added in 2025 instead of 5,84,000 jobs reported earlier.
Earlier, due to increasing geopolitical tension in the international market, the prices of gold and silver had increased. After talks between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it became clear that no ‘conclusive’ agreement has been reached on the issue of Iran. However, he said talks with Tehran would continue.
According to analysts, gold may get support at the level of Rs 1,56,000, while there is resistance around Rs 1,60,500. In Comex, gold is trading in the range of 5000 to 5150 dollars. Earlier it had come down from the high of $5500 to $5600.
Market experts say that the long-term trend of gold remains positive and the recent fall could be due to profit-booking.
Silver is trading in the range of $80 to $87 in Comex, whereas earlier it had come down from the record level of above $121. Experts believe that the demand for silver will remain in future, but prices may continue to fluctuate.
Investors are now keeping an eye on US inflation data and UK GDP data coming on Friday, as these can decide the direction of the market.
–IANS
DBP/