By Mr. Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst - Commodities, HDFC Securities.
Gold prices slightly recovered on Friday, with the spot gold price at Comex trading up by 0.17% at $1917 per ounce. The gold August future contract at MCX was trading up by 0.10% at Rs 58255 per 10 grams by noon.
In the previous session gold prices has corrected nearly 1.0% following a wave of interest-rate hikes from central banks and more hawkish commentary from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Investor sentiment was marred after the Bank of England delivered a surprise 50 basis point rate hike, which was larger than the market had anticipated as the central bank struggles to tame the highest inflation. Comex spot gold prices have fallen nearly 8% since rising to near a record high in late May.
Going forward, we expect short-term bias to remain negative in gold, and gold prices may witness a dip correction to $1884/oz below the $1903/oz level. For the day, Comex spot gold has support at $1903/oz and resistance at $1935/oz. MCX Gold August future has support at Rs 57845 and resistance at Rs 58610.
Crude oil prices declined further on Friday, with the benchmark NYMEX WTI crude oil trading down by 0.50% at $68.50 per barrel. Investors rattled about demand outlook after aggressive rate hikes by global central bankers wound appetite for risk and raised the prospect of an economic slowdown that could impact crude oil demand. In the previous session, crude oil prices tumbled nearly 4.0% to their lowest close in a week as risk-off sentiment in wider markets overshadowed positive US inventory data. US crude inventories fell by 3.83 million barrels last week, against the market expectation of a rise of 0.32 million barrels, a government report showed, but it was still not enough to prevent the negative mood.
On the technical front, NYMEX WTI crude oil has immediate support at $68.10 below that price may retest the support level of $66.95. The area around $70.80 acts as a strong supply zone for the day. MCX Crude Oil July contract resistance is at Rs 5860, and support at Rs 5570 acts as support.