Gold unchanged in early trade; silver falls Rs 100, selling at Rs 55,500/kg

Gold prices remained unchanged in Monday's early trade with 10 gram of the yellow metal (24-carat) trading at Rs 52,150. The price of silver, meanwhile, fell Rs 100 to Rs 55,500 per kg.

Ten gram of 22-carat gold was trading at Rs 47,800 on Monday.

In Mumbai and Kolkata, 24-carat gold is selling at Rs 52,150 per 10 gram, while 22-carat gold is trading at Rs 47,800 in the respective cities. In Delhi, 24-carat and 22-carat gold is trading at Rs 52,310 and Rs 47,950 per 10 gm, respectively.

In Chennai, 24-carat and 22-carat gold is trading at Rs 52,700 and Rs 48,300, respectively.

Gold prices fell for a sixth straight session on Monday to hit their lowest in more than three weeks, weighed down by a robust dollar and expectations of further interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve to tame surging inflation.

Spot gold was down 0.1 per cent at $1,746.06 per ounce, as of 0131 GMT, after hitting its lowest since July 28 at $1,743.83 in early Asian trading. The metal lost nearly 3 per ent last week. The US gold futures eased 0.2 per cent to $1,758.80.

Gold is highly sensitive to rising US interest rates, as these increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. Gold demand in India improved last week as domestic prices dropped to a more than two-week low, while volumes were sombre in other Asian centres.

Meanwhile, one kg of silver was trading at Rs 55,500 in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. In Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kerala, silver is selling at Rs 61,300 per kg.

 Spot silver gained 0.2 per cent to $19.06 per ounce.

(With inputs from Reuters)