Gold and silver have retreated sharply from their late-January peaks, with silver falling roughly twice as far as gold in dollar terms. Fresh futures selling on India’s MCX on Tuesday extended the slide, as profit booking and softer global prices weighed on the white metal.
The rush into gold and silver is cooling, and the reversal has been steep. Since peaking in late January, gold has fallen around 24% while silver is down around 47% in US dollars, according to Mint. The losses read differently for Indian investors, where a higher import duty on gold cushioned part of the move.
Rupee losses run smaller than dollar losses
In rupee terms the decline measures 17% for gold and 40% for silver, Mint reported, with the gold gap partly explained by an import duty that made imported metal more expensive. Market experts told the publication that the drop stemmed from global factors that had little to do with India.
The pullback follows a stretch of speculative enthusiasm and slower central bank buying, factors the experts tied to conditions outside India as prices turned lower.
Silver futures extend the slide on the MCX
The selling carried into Indian futures on Tuesday. Silver fell Rs 3,648 to Rs 2,32,451 per kilogram in futures trade as participants reduced their bets, PTI reported. On the Multi Commodity Exchange, September-delivery silver dropped 1.55% in a turnover of 1,587 lots.
Analysts pointed to a sell-off by participants as the main drag on prices. Globally, silver was trading 2.11% lower at $60.73 per ounce in New York.
For traders, the split between the two metals is the sharper story: silver’s dollar loss since the January peak runs well ahead of gold’s.
Sources: livemint.com (snippet-based), Deccan Chronicle
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