Gold prices declined in Indian markets on Thursday as investors rushed for profit booking at higher levels amid concerns of economic impact from the coronavirus. Gold April futures were trading a lad lower, down Rs 75 or 0.17 per cent to trade at Rs 43,280 per 10 grams, while silver May futures slipped Rs 498 or 1.09 per cent to Rs 45,328 per Kg on MCX in Thursday’s trade.”The yellow metal has come under pressure in the morning since all asset classes have nosedived in the financial markets after WHO officially declares coronavirus as pandemic yesterday. Nevertheless, the investment demand has not fallen significantly plus rupee has depreciated for yet another session,” Jigar Trivedi, Fundamental Research Analyst – Commodities, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers said adding that looking at the overall scenario, the sentiment may stay positive in the yellow metal.
“The focus will be on the ECB when they cut interest rate today in the evening session,” Trivedi added. Earlier this week, the yellow had surged past the $1,700 per ounce level as sell-off in crude oil roiled the global financial markets.
Oil prices slumped in Thursday’s trade amid a broader market rout after the US President Donald Trump announced to ban all travel from Europe to the US for 30 days, except from the United Kingdom, to contain coronavirus blow. This was followed by a declaration from WHO that the coronavirus outbreak is now a global pandemic. Brent crude was trading down $2.12, or 5.9 per cent, at $33.67 . US crude was down $1.87, or 5.7 per cent, at $31.11, Reuters reported.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 3,515.38 crore while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,835.46 crore on Wednesday, according to the data available with NSE.