Gold prices rise 0.41% to ₹79,554 amid festive season demand; silver plummets 1.27%

Gold prices on Wednesday, October 30, rose 0.41 per cent or ₹321 to ₹79,554 per 10 grams of the yellow metal as of 9:06 p.m. (IST), compared to its previous close at ₹79,233 per 10 grams, according to data collected from Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) on Gold Futures contract of December 5, 2024.

According to commodity exchange data, the Silver Futures contract of December 5, 2024, crashed 1.27 per cent, or ₹1,258, to ₹97,472 per kilogram as of 8:54 p.m. (IST), compared to its previous close of ₹98,730 per kilogram. 

On October 30, the news agency PTI reported, citing government data, that India's gold imports surged 21.78 per cent to $27 billion during the first two quarters of the financial year 2024-25 due to strong festive season demand from the domestic market.

The ongoing demand for gold this year's festive season is helping to increase gold imports, an industry expert told the news agency.

India's total gold imports rose 30 per cent to $45.54 billion in the financial year 2023-24. Gold makes up for more than 5 per cent of India's total imports, as per the report. 

India is the second-largest consumer of gold after China, as the country uses its imports majorly in the jewellery industry.

Silver imports also increased 376.41 per cent to $2.3 billion during the first half of the financial year 2024-25, compared to its $480.65 million levels from April to September 2023-24, reported the agency.

Global Gold

Global gold prices hit a record high on Wednesday as traders await economic data for cues of the US Federal Reserve's (FED) policy path. 

The Spot Gold rose 0.1 per cent to $2,777 per ounce by 9:55 a.m. (ET) after reaching an all-time high of $2,789.73 earlier in the session. The United States gold futures rose 0.3 per cent to $2,789.20, reported the news agency Reuters. 

Gold may reach $3,000 by 2025 amid emerging market concerns, gold ETF inflows, and post-election market adjustments, Dominik Sperzel, head of trading at Heraeus Metals Germany told the agency.