Gold Costlier Than Ever: MCX Gold Hits New All-Time High, 24-Carat At Rs 63,380 Per 10 Grams

Bullish bands spread across the precious metals on Wednesday with MCX gold prices hitting an all-time high. 18-carat to 24-carat gold prices surged by Rs 600 to Rs 900 per 10 grams, reaching to their peak levels. While MCX's gold for December expiry rallied to cross Rs 62,600, which is a fresh record high. Meanwhile, silver prices also gained traction. Indian gold prices tracked the international market where spot gold has shot up to near a seven-month high as the dollar index weakened.

At the time of writing, MCX gold futures, expiring on December 5, traded at Rs 62,555 per 10 grams, up by Rs 170 0r 0.3% from the previous day. It touched an all-time high of Rs 62,602 per 10 grams during the early trade. The last all-time high of MCX gold was at Rs 61,914 which was recorded in November this year.

Coming to MCX gold futures for January and February expiry in 2024, these bullions touched an intraday high of Rs 62,670 and Rs 62,934 per 10 grams respectively.

Meanwhile, MCX silver for December expiry surged by Rs 200 or 0.3% to trade at Rs 75,499 per 1 kg, after hitting an intraday high of Rs 75,650 per 1 kg.

On the retail stores across India, the 22-carat gold price jumped by Rs 750 to Rs 58,100 per 10 grams, compared to Rs 57,350 per 10 grams the previous day. Meanwhile, 1 gram to 100 grams of gold in 22-carat surged by Rs 75 to Rs 7,500.

In regards to 24-carat gold, 10 grams of yellow metal climbed by Rs 850 to Rs 63,380 per 10 grams, compared to Rs 62,560 per 10 grams of the previous day. Prices of 1 gram to 100 grams of 24-carat gold soared by Rs 82 to Rs 8,200 from the previous day.

Also, in the case of 18-carat, gold price in 10 grams jumped by Rs 620 to Rs 47,540 from the previous day's print of Rs 46,920. While prices of 1 gram to 100 grams of 18-carat surged by Rs 62 to Rs 6,200.

Furthermore, silver prices in Indian retail stores, stood at Rs 79,200 per 1 kg, rising by a whopping Rs 700 from the previous day. 1 gram to 100 grams of silver was costlier by Rs 0.70 to Rs 70 from the previous day.

On the global front, spot gold touched its highest level since May 5, at $2,044.53 per ounce. However, US gold futures zoomed by 0.3% to trade at $2,045.40 per ounce. The likelihood of the end of interest rate hikes has dampened sentiments in dollar and bond yields.

The greenback plunged to a three-month low on Wednesday as rate cut expectations from the Fed in future made investors bullish on safe-haven assets and pullout their money from the dollar. Also, the 10-year treasury yield dipped by 75 basis points to 4.28%, retracting significantly from its latest high of 5.02%.

Nevertheless, the latest US consumer confidence index jumped in November to 102, up from a downwardly revised 99.1 in October. Despite this month's improvement, the Expectations Index remains below 80 for a third consecutive month-a level that historically signals a recession within the next year. While consumer fears of an impending recession abated slightly-to the lowest levels seen this year-around two-thirds of consumers surveyed in November still perceive a recession to be "somewhat" or "very likely" to occur over the next 12 months.

Rahul Kalantri, VP of Commodities, Mehta Equities said, "The U.S. dollar index descended to nearly a four-month low, accompanied by U.S. 10-year bond yields slipping to a two-month low. The ongoing weakness in the dollar index and declining bond yields continue to underpin gold and silver prices. Additionally, the prospect of reduced U.S. inflation in the coming months might create room for Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2024, potentially propelling gold prices to new all-time highs and pushing silver prices to test the $26 per ounce mark in the short term."

Kalantri added, "Anticipating ongoing volatility in today's session, we note that gold finds support in the range of $2036-2024, with resistance at $2058-2070. Meanwhile, silver is supported at $24.98-24.80, with resistance seen at $25.28-25.45. In terms of INR, gold has a support zone of Rs 62,020-61,810, with resistance at Rs 62,520-62,680. For silver in INR, support lies at Rs74,750-74,380, while resistance is at Rs75,970-76,530."

On the previous day's performance, Kalantri said, gold and silver prices experienced robust gains on Tuesday, with gold reaching a six-month peak and silver achieving a three-month high. The surge in both precious metals was fueled by a shift in the Federal Reserve's tone towards a less-hawkish stance, positive near-term technical indicators, and a decline in the U.S. dollar index.