NEW DELHI:
Gold and silver saw profit booking on Wednesday as equities continued to rise globally amid improving hopes of swifter recovery even as countries across the world continued to batter coronavirus pandemic.
Total number of coronavirus patients in India reached nearly 2 lakh figure while fatalities climbed to 5,600.
Nomura said a collapse in demand is coming as households and companies vie for cash.
Gold futures were down 0.37 per cent or Rs 173 at Rs 46,385 per 10 grams. Silver futures dropped 0.77 per cent or Rs 380 to Rs 48,700 per kg.
pot gold markets in the national capital were open on Tuesday, but rates for the precious metal were not immediately available, according to
HDFC Securities.
Globally, gold prices dipped on Wednesday as equity markets rallied on economic optimism and hopes for further stimulus measures boosted risk-on sentiment.
Spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at $1,722.93 per ounce, as of 1252 GMT.
U.S. gold futures fell 0.3 per cent to $1,729.70.
Traders hope that
the European Central Bank will deliver additional stimulus, by around 500 billion euros, when it meets on Thursday. Central banks and governments around the world have unleashed huge quantities of stimulus to cushion their economies from the coronavirus pandemic.
SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings, rose 0.1 per cent to 1,129.28 tonnes on Tuesday.
Some sort of COVID-19 vaccine could be expected to be available to part of the U.S. population by the end of the year, a senior
U.S. Army vaccine researcher said.
Palladium rose 1.4 per cent to $1,976.30 per ounce, and platinum inched up 0.1 per cent to $839.52, while silver fell 0.6 per cent to $17.98.