Gold Prices Plunge to ₹79,000 per 10 Grams, Silver Declines by ₹1,600

New Delhi: Gold prices dropped significantly on Monday, with 99.9% purity gold falling ₹1,000 to ₹79,400 per 10 grams in the national capital, breaking below the ₹80,000 level amid weak global trends. Gold with 99.5% purity also plunged ₹1,000 to ₹79,000 per 10 grams. Silver mirrored the trend, shedding ₹1,600 to trade at ₹91,700 per kilogram, down from ₹93,300 on Friday.

According to Jateen Trivedi, VP of Research at LKP Securities, the decline in gold prices was driven by profit booking and fading geopolitical tensions. "Gold fell below ₹76,500 as the war premium faded due to the absence of fresh escalations over the weekend," he said. Trivedi added that traders are now focusing on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes and weekly jobless claims data for further cues.

In the futures market, December gold contracts on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) fell ₹1,071 or 1.38%, settling at ₹76,545 per 10 grams from the previous close of ₹77,616. Silver futures for December delivery dropped ₹1,468 or 1.62%, trading at ₹89,300 per kilogram against ₹90,768 on Friday.

Global markets also witnessed weakness, with Comex gold futures falling USD 40.80 or 1.49% to USD 2,696.40 per ounce. Silver declined 1.7% to USD 31.24 per ounce during Asian trading hours. Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst at HDFC Securities, attributed the drop to profit booking after last week’s 6% rally fueled by safe-haven demand amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Maneesh Sharma, AVP of Commodities & Currencies at Anand Rathi Shares, noted that while reports of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah added to the easing of tensions, investors should remain cautious. "Further upside in gold depends on developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and US inflation data, including the PCE price index," Sharma said.