If you are fond of gold jewellery then this is the best time to invest the yellow metal. The price of gold has retreated to a near one-year low. On Friday (March 5), local gold futures fell to Rs 44,217 per 10 grams, a trough since April 7.
The price of one gram of 22-carat gold on Saturday declined to Rs 4,343 from Rs 4,390. The further dip in the prices of precious metal has taken rates to more than 10-month lows. In global markets as well, gold continued its southward trend with prices falling.
On Saturday, the price of 22-carat gold in Delhi dropped to Rs 43,600 from Rs 43,950 per 10 grams, while in Mumbai, it was being sold at Rs 43,430.
Om Friday, in international maket, prices declined 0.2% to USD 1,693.79 per ounce. Notably, this week, gold is down more than 2%, however, silver witnessed a jump of 0.2% to USD 25.35 an ounce, but was down 5%.
Retail consumers in India continued to buy up physical gold this week as prices retreated to a near one-year low, while lower rates also injected fresh activity in other hubs, especially Singapore.
Dealers charged up to USD 5 an ounce over official domestic prices, inclusive of 12.5% import and 3% sales levies, compared with last week's premium of USD 4.
Earlier this week on Wednesday, Gold prices dipped by Rs 11,000 from the previous high in August last year when it cost Rs 56,200 per 10 grams.
Silver too dipped by Rs 10,000 as last year the metal had peaked to Rs 77,800 per kg.
In the previous session, gold futures closed at Rs 45,548 per 10 gram with silver closing at Rs 67,339 per kg.
In the international market, the yellow metal eased as the spot gold rate on Wednesday relaxed 0.3% to USD 1,732.51 per ounce.
Spot gold rate dropped to its lowest on Tuesday at USD 1,706.70 since June 15. US gold futures dipped too, it fell by 0.3% to USD 1,728.90.
What leads to gold price fluctuation?
While gold is often seen as a safe haven investment and store of value, it is also a produced commodity and subject to those same economic forces.
When gold miners produce an excess of gold relative to demand, the price will experience downward pressure due to the laws of economics.
Speculators that accumulate or let go of gold in the market can create temporary imbalances that lead to rapid price changes.
