Gold prices slipped on Monday as weak global sentiment and softening spot demand weighed on the yellow metal, giving Indian buyers a small but welcome breather after the precious metal's relentless climb in recent months.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures for August delivery fell ₹782, or 0.54 per cent, to ₹1,43,380 per 10 grams, with a business turnover of 1,592 lots by afternoon.
What is driving the fall?
Analysts pointed squarely to weak global cues as the primary culprit. In New York, gold futures declined 0.72 per cent to $4,059.36 per ounce, dragging Indian futures lower in tandem.
The fall came amid softening spot demand, a pattern that often emerges during periods of price uncertainty, when retail buyers hold back and wait for prices to stabilise before making purchases, particularly ahead of the festive and wedding seasons later in the year.
Prices across India
In the physical bullion market, Mumbai's opening rates reflected the subdued sentiment: Standard Gold (99.5% purity) was quoted at ₹1,41,343 per 10 grams, while Pure Gold (99.9% purity) opened at ₹1,41,911 per 10 grams.
In Chennai, the traditional gold-buying heartland, 22-carat gold was priced at ₹13,300 per gram and 18-carat gold at ₹11,125 per gram at the opening.
On a broader retail basis, 24-carat gold prices hovered in the ₹1,42,000–₹1,44,000 range across major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Hyderabad, according to market data aggregators.
Despite today's dip, gold remains at historically elevated levels, having crossed the ₹1.40 lakh-per-10-gram mark in recent months, a milestone that would have been unthinkable just a year or two ago.
The metal's premium pricing reflects a combination of sustained global safe-haven demand driven by geopolitical tensions, including the ongoing West Asia conflict and uncertainty around US interest rate policy, along with a weakening dollar and robust central bank buying worldwide.
