MCX gold rises to ₹1.53 lakh/10 gram; silver soars 4% ahead of US FOMC meeting minutes release

At around 3:37 pm, the yellow metal contract was trading ₹1,381 or 0.91% higher at ₹1,52,799 per 10 grams, amid easing geopolitical tensions as investors look forward to the release of the US Federal Reserve's January meeting minutes to gauge the outlook for interest rates.

In the international market, COMEX gold (April expiry) advanced as much as 1.15% to the session’s high of $4,962.20 per ounce. It was trading at $4,941 per ounce, up by 0.72% at the time of writing, after touching a week’s low in the previous session.

Similarly, silver futures for expiry in March rallied as much as ₹9,781 or 4.27% to the day’s peak of ₹2,38,564 per kilogram.

At the time of writing, the white metal contract stood at ₹2,36,538 per kilogram, marking a ₹7,755 or 3.39% jump.

Globally, COMEX silver gained as much as 3.58% to an intraday high of $76.18 per troy ounce. It was at $75.795 per ounce, reflecting a 3.07% increase at the time of writing.

Investors are awaiting the release of the meeting minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) from January, which will be posted later today.

In its January meeting, the US Federal Reserve kept the policy rates unchanged at 3.50%-3.75%. Knowing the deliberations of members in arriving at the decision will give further insight into the probability of future rate cuts.

Markets are also on the lookout for the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) and core PCE data, which is set to be reported on Friday. The Federal Reserve prefers PCE over the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data as a measure of inflation. The recent report showed core CPI rising at the lowest pace since March 2021.

Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions eased as Iran-US nuclear talks concluded in Geneva, with Iran saying that it reached an understanding with the US on the main “guiding principles” to resolve their disputes.

Furthermore, the first round of US-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia also came to an end on Tuesday, with the second round of talks continuing on Wednesday.