Gold up by Rs 100, reclaims Rs 32,000-level on local jewellers' buying

Gold prices reclaimed the Rs 32,000-level by rising Rs 100 to Rs 32,080 per 10 grams today, taking strength from scattered buying by local jewellers amid a firm trend overseas.

Silver also strengthened by Rs 200 to Rs 40,500 per kg due to increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Gold prices firmed up after falling for three straight days, mainly because of fresh buying by local jewellers at the domestic spot market, coupled with a better trend globally.

Globally, gold rose 0.26 per cent to USD 1,315 an ounce and silver by 0.64 per cent to USD 16.50 an ounce in New York yesterday as the dollar backed off its day's highs, raising demand for the precious metals.

In the national capital, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity rebounded by Rs 100 each to Rs 32,080 and Rs 31,930 per ten grams, respectively. It had lost Rs 220 in the previous three days.

Sovereign, however, held steady at Rs 24,700 per piece of eight grams.

Gold sparkled in 2017 despite record surge in US stocks, 3 Fed rate hikes

Gold is opening the new year on the front foot. Bullion advanced for an eighth straight day to head for the longest stretch of gains since mid-2011, building on an annual surge that pushed the precious metal to its best year in seven as the dollar weakened.

Bullion for immediate delivery advanced as much as 0.5 per cent to $1,309.32 an ounce, the highest level since September 26, and was at $1,309.06 at 6:37 am in London, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. Last year, the commodity climbed 14 per cent as the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index lost 8.5 per cent to post the steepest decline since at least 2005.

Gold's strong run in 2017 came even as US stock markets surged to records and the Federal Reserve increased interest rates three times amid signs of an improving economy. Fed policy makers are projecting another three hikes in 2018, while other central banks around the world have also shifted toward a tighter monetary stance, with the European Central Bank planning to halve its asset purchases starting this month.

"As global complacency over the trajectory of US rates continues to be astoundingly low, precious metals, in general, should continue to benefit," Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp in Singapore, said in a note. "The old adage that the market can stay irrational longer then you can stay solvent appears to be alive and well in the gold market at the moment."
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News digest: Exports rise 30%, Adani to build highways, and more

Exports jump 30%, trade deficit high at $13.8 bn

The GST Council's efforts to resolve exporters' woes on refunds seem to have started yielding results. Exports grew 30.55 per cent in November, a month after it contracted 1.1 per cent, also due to the low base effect and rising petroleum prices. In fact, petroleum products, along with engineering goods, gems and jewellery, and chemicals, drove nearly 80 per cent of the rise in merchandise exports. Read more


Govt okays sops for leather sector, waives fee for small digital payments

The Cabinet on Friday cleared a Rs 2,600-crore proposal to boost job creation in the leather industry, lowered the merchant discount rate (MDR) on transactions up to Rs 2,000 through debit cards, BHIM UPI or Aadhaar-enabled payment systems to promote digital transactions, and approved a series of Bills, including one amending the Specific Relief Act to smoothen enforcement of contracts. Read more

Growth slowdown bottoming out, says RBI governor

While expectations on price rise remain stable for the moment, “considerable caution and vigilance is warranted on the inflation front” but the slowing in growth could be over, said Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel. Read more

Adani group to foray into highway construction sector

The Adani group, which has a presence in the power, coal and maritime sectors, would soon foray into the highway construction sector. Read more
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Gold climbs ahead of US Fed Reserve meet, pick for Janet Yellen replacement

Gold climbed briefly back above $1,280 an ounce on Wednesday as caution ahead of this week's confirmation of the new Federal Reserve chair and a policy statement from the bank prompted some to close out bets on falling prices.

Fed Governor Jerome Powell is widely tipped to take over from incumbent Janet Yellen at the head of the U.S. central bank next year. He is seen as a less hawkish and therefore more gold friendly choice than his main challenger John Taylor, a Stanford University economist.

A statement at the end of the Fed's latest policy meeting due later will also be closely watched for clues on the outlook for U.S. interest rates. While the bank is expected to leave rates unchanged, investors will be watching for any indications that it will press ahead with another increase next month.

Spot gold was up 0.5 percent at $1,278.11 an ounce at 1035 GMT, having earlier peaked at $1,280.87. Its upward move accelerated after it broke through its 100-day moving average at $1,275 an ounce, a key chart level.

The metal has fallen for the last two weeks as the dollar has strengthened, taking it to a three-week low on Friday. While prices have recovered, they remain within a less than $15 an ounce range so far this week as traders await clarity on U.S. monetary policy.
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Wall Street slips as tensions with North Korea rattle investors

US stock indexes opened lower on Wednesday as investors turned risk averse following rising tensions between North Korea and the United States.

North Korea said it was considering plans to fire missiles at Guam, a US-held Pacific island, after President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned the nuclear-armed nation that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States.

Safe-haven assets gained following the mounting geopolitical tensions. Gold rose 1.2 percent, while the Swiss franc was on track to post its biggest single day rise in about two-and-a-half years.

Trump's comments also sparked a late afternoon selling on Tuesday, with the Dow ending a nine-day streak of closing records.

The CBOE Volatility Index, the most widely followed barometer of expected near-term stock market volatility, was up 1.03 points at 11.98 points, its highest level in a month.

"The geopolitical tensions have prompted a risk off trade amid investors," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets UK.

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Sensex fall over 100 points, Nifty below 8,750; Tata Steel falls 2%

Latest News - Benchmark indices opened on higher note with Nifty reclaiming its 8,800 mark but later pared gaind to trade in red as Asian markets stayed cautious following growing political risks in Europe and mixed overnight trade on Wall Street.

Street also watched out for some major companies to declare their Q3 earnings during the day. A total of 268 firms are supposed to report their third quarter results during the day including SAIL, BPCL, Power Grid, Lupin, Cairn India and Aurobindo Pharma.

Also, RBI, yesterday held repo rates at 6.25% for the second time in a row, changing its stance to "neutral" from "accommodative".

At 11:33 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 28,169, down 120 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at (Read More)

Economic Survey indicates high tax on gold to continue

Latest News - Economic Survey for 2016-17 has indicated that implicit subsidy for gold is still too high and it mostly goes to the middle class. Market participants say that this indicates that government is looking to have higher tax revenues from gold.

Survey notes that the calculations of implicit subsidies for the middle class, which forms top 40 per cent population, is estimated based on expenditure distribution as per NSS data of 2011-12

LPG subsidysubsidy for this class has been estimated at Rs 28,219 crore for 15-16 and for gold it has been estimated at Rs. 10,800 crore which is 0.08 per cent of (Read More)