Gold falls Rs350, silver drops Rs200

New Delhi: Gold prices declined by Rs350 to Rs73,800 per 10 grams in the national capital on Friday, according to the All India Sarafa Association. In the previous session, gold of 99.9 per cent purity traded at Rs74,150 per 10 grams. Silver declined by Rs200 to Rs87,000 per kg from Rs87,200 per kg in the previous day. Meanwhile, gold of 99.5 per cent purity also dropped by Rs350 to Rs73,450 per 10 grams against Rs73,800 per 10 grams on Thursday. The yellow metal extended losses on Friday, weighed down by rising US Treasury yields and a recovery in the dollar index, market experts said. Prices of precious metal were also influenced by the minutes of the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) released by RBI on Thursday. Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the current policy rate of 6.5 per cent is broadly balanced, and any justification for policy easing at this juncture can be misleading, according to the MPC minutes.

Governor Das and three other members voted for the status quo on the repo rate in the MPC, while two members advocated a rate cut. Globally, gold at Comex gained $18.20 to trade at $2,534.90 per ounce. Silver was trading 1.24 per cent higher at $29.84 per ounce in the international markets. Minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s July meeting revealed a strong inclination toward a rate cut next month, a move supported by at least two Fed officials, Prathamesh Mallya, DVP- Research, Non-Agri Commodities and Currencies, Angel One Ltd, said.