Gold Futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) opened marginally down on Wednesday tracking weakness in the Comex gold. The yellow metal softened amidst diplomatic measures that may avert a war between Russia and Ukraine. International gold last quoted at $1,854.3 an oz in the early trade.

After briefly hitting ₹50,000 levels, the most active MCX Gold April contract opened at ₹49,350 per 10 grams, down ₹35 or 0.07 per cent from previous close of ₹49,385.

MCX Silver March Futures too mirrored the overall weakness in the bullion pack to open at ₹62,899 per kg down ₹90 or 0.06 per cent from previous close.

Comex Gold

CME Gold April Futures opened at $1,855.5 an oz (a troy ounce is equal to 31.1 grams) on Wednesday, marginally down from previous close of $1,856.2 an oz.

Yellow metal had hit an intra-day high of $1881.3 levels, last seen on November 16, 2021.

Comex gold pared most of the gains on Tuesday and remained under pressure on Wednesday as war tensions appeared cooling off. The leaders from NATO and Russia have indicated preference for diplomatic talks over war, which has subsided the tensions on military conflict in the Eastern European region.

After seven straight sessions of gains, Comex Silver started softening since Tuesday tracking weakening gold prices. On Wednesday, CME Silver March contract opened flat at $23.380 an oz, against the previous close of $23.340. Intra-day Silver futures had hit a high of $24.015 on Tuesday, highest since January 26.

MCX Gold

The MCX Gold April contract last quoted at ₹49,340 per 10 grams at 10.27 am on Wednesday, down 0.09 per cent from previous close. The Open interest for April contract was 11,059 lots.

MCX Silver Futures too traded nearly flat with negative bias. The contract last quoted at ₹62,941 a kg at 10.27 am, down ₹48 or 0.08 per cent from previous close of ₹62,989. The open interest was recorded at 7,898 lots in the early trades on Wednesday.

Spot gold

Spot gold hit multi-month high levels at ₹50,356 per 10 grams early on Tuesday. However, the yellow metal softened later in the day and was quoted at ₹49,578 per 10 grams of 999 purity fine gold as quoted by India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) for afternoon rates.

Spot Silver too softened from ₹64,440 quoted earlier in the day to end the day at ₹63,105 a kg on Tuesday, according to IBJA.

Analyst speak

Analysts maintained that the yellow metal retreated on Tuesday following the reports of some Russian military units returning to bases, easing fears of what was seen as an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, there is still no clarity about the military tension along the Ukrainian border, prompting analysts to maintain a cautious view on gold movement. Also, the US Federal Reserve's rate hike plans hold the key for the gold movement later in the month.

Analysts expect MCX Gold Futures to trade in a broad range of ₹48,552-50,742 on Wednesday, while silver range is expected to be ₹61,296-65,446.

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