Gold and silver futures fall by 9% ahead of Union Budget presentation, ETFs fall nearly 16%; check important updates 

Ahead of the Union Budget 2026 presentation today at 11 AM, gold and silver prices are falling. Silver futures for March delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) opened nearly 6% lower at ₹2,74,410 per kg, while gold futures also declined by 6% to open at ₹1,43,205 per 10 gram. 

During the early morning session, the silver and gold contracts fell by 8.9% to an intraday low of ₹2,65,652 per kg and ₹1,38,634 per 10 gram on the MCX, respectively.

On Friday, silver March contracts declined by 27% to close at ₹2,91,925 per kg after hitting a lifetime high of  ₹4,20,048 per kg on Thursday.

Gold futures, on the other hand, tumbled by 17.1% to close at ₹1,52,345 per 10 gram on the MCX on Friday, down from the record high of ₹1,93,096 per 10 gram hit during the session on Thursday.

All eyes are now on the Union Budget to see if Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman makes any announcements regarding the precious metals affecting the prices and providing an outlook for the upcoming fiscal year. 

Local markets

On Saturday, silver prices in Delhi fell by 19%, losing ₹72,500 in one session, to ₹3,12,000 per kg, as investors booked profits amid a global selloff due to a stronger US dollar. Gold prices also declined, dropping 2% to ₹1,65,500 per 10 gram, according to the All India Sarafa Association.

For silver, this was the second consecutive session of heavy losses, wiping out most of the gains made during the week. In the last two days, silver prices have fallen by ₹92,500 from the record ₹4,04,500 per kg hit on Thursday. 

Gold prices have fallen significantly from a record high of ₹1,83,000 per 10 gram on January 29, marking a 9.5% decline.

Despite the massive crash, gold and silver ended January with substantial gains. Silver soared by ₹73,000 (30.5%) during the first month of 2026 from ₹2,39,000 per kg on December 31, 2025, while gold ended 20.2% higher from ₹1,37,700 per 10 gram recorded at the end of last year. 

Analysts said the sell-off was driven by a rebound in the dollar, which weighed on gold and silver prices, a PTI report noted. 

The dollar index rose 0.9% to close at 97.15 after US President Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor and proponent of a strong dollar, as Chair of the US Federal Reserve. The move dented the appeal of safe-haven assets, they added.

International markets

Gold and silver witnessed huge losses even in the international markets. Spot silver fell by $31.44 (27.07%) to end at $84.70 per ounce on Friday, after falling by 36% to an intraday low of $73.30 per ounce. 

Meanwhile, gold fell by $530.53, or 9.83%, to settle at $4,865.35 per ounce. During the session, the yellow metal declined by $689.92, or 12.8%, to hit an intraday low of $4,683.10 per ounce.

Silver and gold had risen to all-time highs of $121.45 and $5,595.02 per ounce on Thursday, respectively, driven by safe-haven demand.

"Warsh's nomination triggered profit booking in Asia, which then spread to the rest of the world,” a PTI report quoted Sandip Raichura, CEO of Retail Broking and Distribution & Director, PL Capital, as saying. 

Barring gold, where we believe fundamental strength will continue for years to come, though volatility will remain, other precious metals have seen some froth build up, he said, adding, “We believe silver may lose further ground but could find a base around the $60 per ounce level, where it would still be trading at nearly four times the cost of production.”

On the outlook, he said gold is likely to continue moving upwards in the medium term towards the $6,000 and subsequently $8,000 level over the next two years.

Meanwhile, jewellers expect policy support ahead of the Union Budget to revive the demand, the PTI report noted.