Gold and silver prices opened sharply lower on MCX Thursday as markets tracked ongoing Trump-Xi talks and developments in the Iran conflict. MCX silver futures for July 2026 fell ₹3,359, or 1.1%, to ₹2,96,879 per kg, while June 2026 gold futures dropped ₹1,159, or 0.7%, to ₹1,61,027 per 10 grams. However, gold prices rose in India on Thursday, with the price standing at ₹14,548.90 per gram, up from ₹14,483.50 on Wednesday, according to FXStreet data. Gold increased to ₹169,695.40 per tola from ₹168,932.70 per tola the previous day. The decline follows a strong rally in the previous session, when silver surged over ₹21,000 and gold gained nearly ₹9,000. In the international market, spot gold was steady at $4,688.43 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures for June delivery slipped 0.2% to $4,695. The drop also comes amid a one-time price adjustment following the central government's hike in customs duty on imports of gold, silver, and other precious metals.
U.S. President Donald Trump is heading into a series of meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, with multiple objectives on the agenda. Trump aims to secure economic wins, maintain a fragile trade truce, and navigate complex issues including the Iran war. According to Reuters, Trump is expected to seek China's help to resolve the costly and unpopular conflict, which he launched with Israel in late February. However, analysts say he is unlikely to get the support he wants from Beijing. These high-stakes diplomatic talks are closely watched by global investors, influencing market sentiment and safe-haven asset demand. The discussions are expected to focus on economic issues, preserving the fragile trade truce and addressing geopolitical tensions, including the Middle East conflict. While Trump has said he may not need China's help to resolve the 11-week long war, he is expected to seek Xi's support. The key question is whether the meeting will yield any progress on the Iran conflict, as noted by ING. China's Xi Jinping told Trump that trade talks were making progress at the start of a two-day summit on Thursday, but warned that disagreement over Taiwan could send relations down a dangerous path and even lead to conflict.
As President Trump launches his official trip to Beijing, the two nations stand at a pivotal moment for forging a strategic, constructive and stable relationship based on a new type of framework for major-country relations. China-U.S. relations have weathered periodic ups and downs yet remained steady overall, with head-of-state diplomacy serving as an unshakable anchor of bilateral ties. Over the years, Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Trump have maintained close communication via phone calls and an in-person meeting in Busan, Republic of Korea. Since that face-to-face meeting in October last year, bilateral relations have maintained stable positive momentum, gaining wide support from both nations and the international community. As the world's two largest economies, China and the U.S. share a duty to cooperate rather than clash, with President Xi emphasizing that dialogue always outweighs confrontation and both sides should embrace long-term collaborative interests.
The Indian rupee is expected to remain under pressure on Thursday, holding near its all-time low of 95.7950 per U.S. dollar, on persistent oil-linked headwinds that have lingered for weeks. Brent crude was largely steady near $106 a barrel with investors awaiting the Trump-Xi meeting, with the Iran war in focus. The rupee is expected to open in the 95.70 to 95.80 range, after settling at 95.7050 per U.S. dollar on Wednesday. Headlines related to the Iran war emerging from Trump's visit to China will steer oil prices and spillover effects would influence the rupee, traders said. Any relief from the meeting on the oil front would buoy the rupee, which has been under mounting strain from persistently high crude prices. The pressure is evident in the prime minister's call to curb non-essential travel and gold imports to conserve foreign exchange.
U.S. producer prices posted their biggest increase in four years during April, signaling accelerating inflation amid ongoing Middle East conflicts. According to Reuters, the surge was boosted by soaring costs for goods and services, representing the latest evidence of inflationary pressures. This development comes as the U.S. Senate approved Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair, as the central bank grapples with intensifying inflation that may complicate Trump's demands for interest-rate cuts. While gold is considered a hedge against inflation, higher interest rates tend to weigh on the non-yielding metal. Traders have largely priced out a Fed rate cut this year, with markets now seeing a 28 per cent chance of a hike by December, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Gold discounts in India reached a record high of more than $200 per ounce on Wednesday, as reported by Reuters. The surge in prices after an import duty hike triggered significant investor selling, occurring in an already weak demand environment. Bullion dealers told Reuters that gold discounts in India widened to a record of more than $200 an ounce on Wednesday. This development highlights the challenging conditions facing the Indian gold market amid global price volatility. India has raised import duties on bullion to contain the trade deficit, which could widen further due to higher oil imports and lead to a significant expansion in the current account deficit. On MCX, gold has support at ₹1,60,200-1,58,000 and resistance at ₹1,64,400-1,66,600, while silver has support at ₹2,94,400-2,88,000 and resistance at ₹3,04,000-3,10,000.
Other precious metals showed mixed performance on Thursday. Spot silver fell 0.7% to $87.33 per ounce, while platinum fell 0.5% to $2,126.90 and palladium was down 0.1% at $1,498.28. The divergent performance across precious metals reflects varying investor sentiment and market dynamics affecting different segments of the precious metals complex. In the international market, spot silver fell 0.7% to $87.33 per ounce, while platinum declined 0.5% to $2,126.90 and palladium slipped 0.1% to $1,498.28.
