MCX silver tanks over ₹12,500 to ₹2.46 lakh/kg, gold slips below ₹1.55 lakh/10 grams; check details

At around 4:56 PM, the white metal contract was trading ₹6,986 or 2.69% lower at ₹2,52,449 per kilogram in a business turnover of 5,844 lots, as weak domestic demand and the upcoming US Federal meeting weighed on investor sentiment.

In the international market, COMEX silver declined as much as 5.18% to the session’s low of $77.125 per troy ounce. At the time of writing, it was trading 2.86% lower at $79.02 per troy ounce.

Similarly, gold futures for expiry in April tanked by ₹3,541 or 2.23% to the day’s low of ₹1,54,925 per 10 grams on the MCX, compared to the close of ₹1,58,466 per 10 grams on Friday. It stood at ₹1,56,131 per 10 grams, marking a ₹2,335 or 1.47% decline at the time of writing.

Globally, COMEX gold slumped as much as 1.81% to an intraday low of $4,970.10 per ounce. At the time of writing, it was trading 1.14% lower at $5,003.90 per ounce.

Why are precious metal prices falling?

As per the CME Group’s Fedwatch, the US Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold its policy rate steady at its upcoming policy meeting scheduled on March 17-18.

Furthermore, central banks in the Eurozone, the UK, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, China, Brazil, and Russia are also set to decide on monetary policy.

Indian bullion dealers have extended discount offerings to unprecedented levels, reaching $83 per ounce over domestic official pricing, inclusive of 6% import and 3% sales levy, the highest discount observed since July 2016, compared to $28 in the previous week, the PTI report quoted Renisha Chainani, Head - Research at Augmont, as saying.

The sharp increase in dealer discounts indicates a profound weakening in retail demand for precious metals, she said, adding that jewellers have largely refrained from purchases as they focus on closing their books for the financial year.

The subdued buying activity across the jewellery sector and distribution channels has limited near-term support for bullion prices, Chainani said.