Gold Rates Are Marginally Down In India On December 18, Quoted At Rs. 47,690

Gold rates in India have surged significantly for two days in a row but fell today marginally. International gold rates however are bullish at present. On December 18, the 22 carat gold rates are quoted at Rs. 47,690/10 grams and 24 carat gold rates are quoted at Rs. 48,690/10 grams in India. Gold business is very important for cities like Chennai, Bangalore, and Madurai, but gold rates remained static today. In Kolkata, the precious metal only fell by Rs. 100/10 grams.

Gold has increased in the international markets for the last three days, and the analysts think that this surge is supported by multiple factors, while the equities segment is one of the important reasons. The risk-off market sentiment in US equities, as three main indices closed by declining.

The Omicron variant is another reason the gold rates increased marginally. Recently the World Health Organization said, "Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant. We're concerned that people are dismissing Omicron as mild. Surely, we have learned by now that we underestimate this virus at our peril." Hence, the wake of another wave of the pandemic increased the gold prices by a tad.

Most importantly, a falling US Dollar index and rising inflation are helping the gold market to boom. Analyst Colin Cieszynski, the chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management, told Kitco News, "increasing concerns about inflation, which was enough to push the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank to accelerate tapering of bond purchases and the Bank of England to raise interest rates." If the Fed hikes the interest rate and increases the tapering pace, then the gold market can be bearish, in the next week.

Gold rates are quoted differently, daily. Today's gold rates in major Indian cities follow:

City	22 carat (INR/10 Grams)	24 carat (INR/10 Grams)
Mumbai	47,690/-	48,690/-
Delhi	47,850/-	52,200/-
Bangalore	45,700/-	49,850/-
Hyderabad	45,700/-	49,850/-
Chennai	45,940/-	50,120/-
Kerala	45,700/-	49,850/-
Kolkata	47,850/-	50,550/-

Today the Comex gold futures gained only by 0.40% and were quoted at $1803.8/oz, while the spot gold prices dropped by 0.03%, and were quoted at $1799.7/oz till last traded. Yesterday Comex gold futures closed at $1796.6/oz. Additionally, the US dollar index in the spot market went to 96.64 till the last traded. Mirroring the same global gold rate trend, in India, the Mumbai MCX gold in February future quoted at Rs. 48,603/10 grams, fell by 0.09%, till last traded.