Gold price inches up to Rs 46,950 per 10 gm, silver trends at Rs 70,500/ kg

Gold price inches up to Rs 46,950 per 10 gm, silver trends at Rs 70,500/ kg

Gold price on Wednesday jumped by Rs 490 to Rs 46,950 per 10 grams, while silver price was trending at Rs 70,500 per kg, according to the Good Returns website.

Gold jewellery price varies across India, the second-largest consumer of the metal, due to excise duty, state taxes, and making changes.

In New Delhi, the price of 22-carat gold rose by Rs 590 to Rs 46,000 per 10 gm, while in Chennai it has inched up to Rs 44,280, up Rs 500. In Mumbai also, the rate increased by Rs 490 to Rs 46,950 according to the Good Returns website. The price of 24-carat gold in Chennai is Rs 48,300 per 10 gm.

In the international market, Gold edged lower in choppy trade on Tuesday as the dollar recovered ground lost in the immediate wake of comments from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who said the economic recovery was "uneven and far from complete."

Spot gold was down 0.3 per cent at $1,803.62 an ounce by 2:10 p.m. EST (1910 GMT), after briefly moving into positive territory as the dollar dipped following Powell's comments.

US gold futures settled down 0.1 per cent at $1,805.90.

Powell said it will be "some time" before the Fed considers changing policies it adopted to help the economy get back to full employment and he "does not expect inflation to rise to troubling levels."

"There's been a little volatility around Powell's Senate appearance but he hasn't really said anything to rock the boat," OANDA analyst Craig Erlam said.

"Despite the volatility, we haven't seen any significant directional movement in yields or the dollar, which is why gold is only marginally lower, a reflection of the dollar being a little higher."

The dollar index crawled back up 0.2 per cent, moving away from near a six-week low, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.

But gold might not reverse course to gain substantially "until we get a real spike in inflation expectations or a Fed that talks about controlling the yield curve," said IG Market analyst Kyle Rodda.

Rising yields have challenged bullion's appeal as an inflation hedge, since they increase the opportunity cost of holding gold.

Gold jumped 1.5 per cent on Monday as prospects of rising inflation triggered equity valuation concerns and drove investors toward the safe-haven metal.