After opening in the red, gold futures moved up to trade in a positive territory on Wednesday as international gold strengthened further.

Gold futures on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) opened at ₹47,670 per 10 grams, marginally down by ₹19 against the previous close of ₹47,689.

Silver futures, too, tracked the weakness in the yellow metal and opened in the red at ₹61,011 a kg, down by ₹92 from the previous close of ₹61,103.

Demand for gold likely to be buoyant this year too

International gold sustained above $1,800 to trade at $1,819 early on Wednesday.

Comex gold gains for the third day

CME gold futures opened at $1,821.3 an oz (a troy ounce is 31.1 grams) on Wednesday, marginally changed from the previous close of $1,818.5.

Comex gold futures saw a sharp movement on Tuesday, gaining from intra-day lows of $1,799.7 to an intra-day high of $1,823.1, inching closer to the levels seen on January 5 at $1,830.

The most active Comex Silver March contract opened unchanged at $22.810 an oz on Wednesday, same as the previous day's close.

MCX gold stays above ₹47,500

MCX Gold February futures opened in the red but inched up to trade in positive territory with marginal gains of ₹57 in initial trades on Wednesday. The yellow metal last quoted at ₹47,746 per 10 grams, up ₹57 at 10.52 am Wednesday. The open interest for the February contract was 6,777 lots on Wednesday.

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MCX silver futures closely tracked the gold movement and turned positive after opening in the red on Wednesday. Silver March contract was last quoted at ₹61,150 a kg at 10.52 am on Wednesday, marginally up by ₹47 from the previous close. The open interest was recorded at 15,397 lots in the early trades on MCX.

Spot gold inches up

In retail markets, spot gold stayed below ₹48,000 but inched up to ₹47,705 per 10 grams of 999 purity fine gold, as quoted by India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) for afternoon rates on Tuesday.

Spot silver, which had slipped below ₹60,000 on Friday, made marginal gains to quote at ₹60,440 on Tuesday.

Analyst-speak

Gold is seen getting support from the World Bank's forecast on economic growth for countries such as the US, Eurozone and China, coupled with sustained high levels of debts and the fact that the persistent stress on employment due to the new Covid-19 variant may delay economic recovery.

However, analysts expect MCX gold futures to trade below ₹48,000 even as Comex gold gains strength. The gold futures range is expected to be ₹47,376-47,856, while silver is expected to trade around ₹60,435-61,501.

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