MCX gold falls marginally below ₹1.63 lakh/10 grams; Silver down nearly 3% tracking global prices

At around 1:56 PM, the yellow metal contract was trading ₹879 or 0.54% lower at ₹1,62,424 per 10 grams in a business turnover of 7,566 lots, tracking bearish sentiment in international markets amid mixed signals surrounding the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

Globally, COMEX gold (April expiry) fell as much as 0.97% to the session’s low of $5,191.30 per troy ounce. At the time of writing, it stood at $5,198.10 per ounce, down by 0.84%.

On the MCX, silver futures for expiry in April declined as much as ₹7,250 or 2.61% to an intraday low of ₹2,70,600 per kilogram. It was trading ₹5,976 or 2.15% lower at ₹2,71,874 per kilogram in business turnover of 5,861 lots at the time of writing.

In the international market, COMEX silver dropped as much as 3.39% to the day’s low of $86.555 per troy ounce. It stood at $86.70 per troy ounce, marking a 3.23% decline at the time of writing.

Why are gold, silver prices falling?

Investors turned cautious following the recent gains in the precious metal prices, as developments in West Asia remained uncertain.

Earlier, President Donald Trump signalled that the conflict could end soon, but continued strikes between the US, Israel, and Iran by early Wednesday indicated little immediate de-escalation, extending the conflict into its 12th consecutive day.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.09% higher at 98.914.

On the macroeconomic front, investors are on the lookout for the US consumer price index data for February, which will be released later in the day. They will also be awaiting the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index data, the US Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, on Friday.

As per the CME Group’s Fedwatch, traders expect the US Federal Reserve to keep policy rates unchanged at the upcoming Fed meeting from March 17 to 18.