Silver plunges by Rs 1,100 per kg; gold flat at Rs 71,350 per 10 g

New Delhi: Gold prices ruled flat at Rs 71,350 per 10 grams while silver prices declined by Rs 1,100 per kg in the local market here on Thursday, according to the All India Sarafa Association.

Silver prices plunged by Rs 1,100 to Rs 81,100 per kg on decreased offtake by coin makers and industrial units. The metal closed at Rs 82,200 per kg in the previous session.

In the national capital, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity remained flat at Rs 71,350 and 71,000 per 10 grams, respectively.

On the global front, gold at Comex was quoted at USD 2,396 per ounce, up by USD 3 from the prior day.

"Comex gold traded steady after the past few days' wild swing. Investors are inclined toward safe-haven assets with risk-averse sentiments while the weaker dollar index and US Treasury yield augur well for the gold prices," Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, said.

According to Chintan Mehta, Chief Executive Officer at Abans Holdings, the prices of the yellow metal remain firm as optimism surrounding the imminent interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve (Fed) has made the non-yielding asset attractive as a hedge against inflation.

Increased risk from continuing geopolitical tension has kept the fundamentals of the yellow metal strong. Traders will keep tabs on Fed members' speeches for further direction on the monetary policy path, Mehta added.

Meanwhile, silver was flat at USD 26.89 per ounce in the overseas markets.

"US jobless claims data to be released later on Thursday can induce further volatility in the markets," Praveen Singh – Associate VP, Fundamental Currencies and Commodities, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said.

As per Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst - Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, the market participants will also be awaiting upcoming US Consumer Price Index inflation data for July and the nonfarm payrolls report in early September will be crucial in confirming the certainty of the interest rate cuts.

Gold traders should closely monitor these developments to gauge the future direction of prices, Trivedi added.