Gold price crosses $2,391 per ounce in global market, highest in six weeks; check local rates

Gold prices climbed to a six-week high of $2,391 per ounce in the international market on July 5, as optimism grows over the initiation of rate cut cycle by the US Federal Reserve.

The yellow metal closed at $2,391.62 an ounce, higher by $34.1 or 1.45% as against the previous day's close. The price is inching closer to the $2,400 level, which was seen in April after tensions between arch-rivals Iran and Israel escalated.

On India's Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold has crossed the ₹73,000 per 10 gram mark. The futures for August delivery closed ₹671 or 0.93% higher at ₹73,038 on Friday.

The jump in gold rates comes in the backdrop of data released this week that showed a softening of the US economy.

ISM Non-Manufacturing Index, which measures the US services sector, dropped to 48.8 in June due to a decline in orders, according to the data released on July 3. This was below the consensus estimate of 52.5.

Separately, the data shared by the US labour department on July 3 showed initial unemployment filings rising to a 2.5-year high. The initial jobless claims, filed to claim unemployment benefits from the state, increased by 4,000 to 238,000 for the week ended June 29.

The dip in employment generation was also reflected in the report released separately by Automatic Data Processing Inc, which showed private employers added 150,000 jobs in June as against an estimate of 160,000. In May, 157,000 jobs were added.

Gold rates in Indian cities

As per the local rates tracked by Upstox, the per 10 gram of 24 karat gold was priced at ₹74,020 in Mumbai, down by ₹551 or 0.74%.

In New Delhi, the rate climbed by 1.81% or ₹1,335 to ₹74,964 per 10 gram.

The price increased by ₹1,481 or 2.01% to ₹75,037 per 10 gram in Kolkata.

In Chennai, the metal was priced at ₹74,747 per 10 gram, up by ₹901 or 1.22%.

In a forecast released in April, Citi Research said gold could hit the $3,000 an ounce mark in the international market in the next six to 18 months. It sees the baseline at $2,350 per ounce in 2024, higher by 6.8% as compared to its previous forecast.

For 2025, Citi Research has increased the gold’s estimated baseline to $2,875 per ounce, marking an upward revision of 40%. The metal is likely to test and surpass the $2,500 mark several times in this calendar year, it projected.