Gold falls Rs 400 to Rs 1.6 lakh/10g, silver remains flat at Rs 2.6 lakh/kg

New Delhi: Gold prices fell by Rs 400 to Rs 1.6 lakh per 10 grams in the national capital on Thursday amid weak global trends and receding expectations of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

According to the All India Sarafa Association, gold of 99.9 per cent purity declined Rs 400, or 0.25 per cent, to Rs 1,60,900 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes). It had settled at Rs 1,61,300 per 10 grams on Wednesday.

However, silver prices remained unchanged at Rs 2,68,500 per kilogram (inclusive of all taxes) in the local bullion market.

"Gold traded within range with modest declines on Thursday amid markets scaling back aggressive rate-cut expectations following stronger-than-expected data from the US labour market," Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst - Commodities at HDFC Securities, said.

The US non-farm payrolls report for January showed that the economy added 1.3 lakh jobs, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.3 per cent, signalling continued resilience in the labour market.

He added that the robust labour data has tempered expectations of an immediate rate reduction by the US Federal Reserve, which weighed on precious metals.

"However, the broader policy shift towards eventual rate cuts remains intact," Gandhi said.

In the global market, spot gold slipped USD 22.07, or 0.43 per cent, to USD 5,062.46 per ounce while silver was trading nearly 2 per cent lower at USD 82.84 per ounce.

According to Kotak Securities, spot gold is trading moderately lower near USD 5,070 per ounce after stronger-than-expected US employment data tempered expectations for an early Federal Reserve rate cut.

The brokerage firm, in a market note, said silver fell sharply to USD 81.6 before rebounding to around USD 83. The metal remains highly volatile -- down roughly one-third from its January 29 record high -- with recent price swings the most extreme since 1980, driven by thin liquidity and aggressive positioning.

While delayed monetary easing limits near-term upside for non-yielding assets like gold, persistent geopolitical risks, sustained central bank buying, and ongoing concerns over currency debasement continue to provide an underlying support to bullion, it added.

"Focus now turns to jobless claims and Friday's US Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers for further policy direction," Kotak Securities noted.