Gold steadied near $4,050 an ounce on Wednesday, clawing back ground after Tuesday’s hot US inflation report knocked the metal from the $4,115 level it held before the CPI release. Gold futures on COMEX rose $19.70, or 0.49%, to $4,049.90 an ounce in early Asian trading, touching an intraday high of $4,050, CNBC-TV18 reported.
Silver did the heavy lifting. Silver futures gained $0.965, or 1.88%, to $52.19 an ounce, moving between $51.42 and $52.20, according to the same report. Spot silver was quoted near $52.38 an ounce later in the session, IndustryWired said, up 1.69% on the day. The rebound came as investors weighed the inflation outlook: October CPI rose 0.4%, above the 0.3% forecast, strengthening the case for another Federal Reserve rate rise in December.
India tells a mixed story
Retail prices in India moved the other way. The India Bullion and Jewellers Association put 10 grams of 24-carat gold at about Rs 1.41 lakh, down Rs 1,615 on the day, while silver rose Rs 495 per kilogram to Rs 1.86 lakh, Patna Press reported. On the Multi Commodity Exchange, December gold futures rose 0.73% to Rs 1,41,550 per 10 grams and silver futures climbed 2.66% to Rs 1,87,439 per kilogram, Upstox reported.
What the CPI means for metals
Higher rates usually weigh on gold, which pays no yield, yet the metal has held above $4,000 through the sell-off in risk assets. Traders now watch whether the Federal Reserve follows through in December: CME FedWatch puts a December hike at 100%, with the size of the move the open question. For savers and jewellery buyers, the split between a firm global price and softer Indian retail rates is a reminder that currency moves and local taxes matter as much as the headline dollar price.
The other metals moved too. Platinum and palladium also rose in London trading, with platinum at £1,166.17 an ounce and palladium at £810.39, according to Woodbury Gold’s live feed on November 11, while gold in sterling stood at £3,041.12 an ounce and silver at £39.77. The sterling figures are a reminder that British buyers face a different price from the dollar quote, and the pound’s own moves can add or remove hundreds of pounds from a purchase. For investors, the metal’s resilience above $4,000 despite a near-certain December rate rise suggests that central bank buying and safe-haven demand are doing more of the work than interest-rate maths alone.
Related reading: Gold Eases From $4,115 as Silver Slips Below $53 Before CPI and Bitcoin Holds $74,500 Ahead of CPI Report
