Gold falls Rs 442; silver tumbles Rs 950

New Delhi: Gold in the national capital on Thursday fell by Rs442 to Rs51,010 per 10 grams in line with decline in international precious metal prices. In the previous trade, the precious metal settled at Rs 51,452 per 10 grams. Silver also declined by Rs 950 to Rs 64,167 per kg from Rs 65,117 per kg in the previous trade.

In the international market, gold was trading lower at $1,885 per ounce and silver was flat at $23.25 per ounce. "Gold prices traded weak with spot gold prices at COMEX trading at $1,885 per ounce on Thursday. Gold prices fell to a two-month low as the dollar rallied on expectations of aggressive monetary policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve," said Tapan Patel, senior analyst (commodities), HDFC Securities.

Gold futures decline

Gold futures fell by Rs113 to Rs51,086 per 10 grams in futures trade as speculators reduced their positions amid low demand. Silver futures tumbled by Rs452 to Rs64,228 per kilogram as participants reduced their bets on low demand.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold contracts for June delivery traded lower by Rs 113 or 0.22 per cent at Rs 51,086 per 10 grams in a business turnover of 13,457 lots.

Analysts attributed the fall in gold prices to trimming of positions by participants. Globally, gold was trading 0.18 per cent lower at $1,885.30 an ounce in New York. Silver contracts for May delivery on MCX tumbled by Rs452 or 0.7 per cent to Rs 64,228 per kg in a business turnover of 3,572 lots. Globally, silver was trading 0.64 per cent lower at $23.36 per ounce in New York.

Brent crude trading at $104.73/bbl

Crude oil prices on Thursday rose by Rs11 to Rs7,798 per barrel as participants widened their positions on a firm spot demand. Globally, West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down by 0.43 per cent at $101.58 per barrel, while Brent crude traded 0.56 per cent lower at $104.73 per barrel in New York.On MCX.