Gold opened on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) on Monday at Rs 61,396 per 10 grams and hit an intraday low of Rs 61,301. In the international market, prices hovered around $2,000.78 per troy ounce. Meanwhile, silver opened at Rs 71,839 per kg, hit an intraday low of Rs 71,839 on the MCX, and hovered around $23.11 per troy ounce in the international market.  

Praveen Singh, Associate V.P., Fundamental Currencies and Commodities, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said, “The metal closed with a gain of 1.08% at $2,006 Friday and was up nearly 1.30 per cent on a weekly closing basis.”  

Israel said late Friday night that it has intensified its attack on Hamas as Israeli soldiers moved into Gaza; their ground incursion has been accompanied by heavy air raids. However, as per Israel’s government account, this ground attack is not the expected ground invasion.   

Israel mainly aims to build pressure on Hamas through this calibrated attack that may force Hamas to release Israeli civilians it is holding hostage. Presently, Gaza is facing devastating destruction and a humanitarian crisis, which has sparked more protests globally. Notable among such major developments has been a verbal spat between Israel and Turkey, which prompted the former to call back its diplomats.  

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The yellow metal depends on events in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and traders are piling up on the safe haven offered by the metal.   

Should the Middle East conflict flare up further and involve other regional players, the prices of gold could move towards an all-time high of $2,080. Risk comes from the possibility of Israel continuing with its measured attack strategy and a surge in US Treasury yields and the Dollar, though the metal has shown limited reactions to the US yields and Dollar as the focus remains mainly on the ongoing war in the Middle East. Nonetheless, the fact that no other nation has joined this war after three weeks is somewhat concerning for the bulls.  

Manav Modi, Analyst, Commodity and Currency, MOFSL, said, “Gold prices hover around the key $2,000 level as an escalating Middle East conflict kept the safe-haven metal increasingly in demand among investors as they now gear up for the U.S. Federal Reserve policy’s meeting this week.”  

Last week, US Federal Reserve officials maintained a cautious tone while bets for a pause in the November Fed meeting continued to increase, supporting an up-move in gold and silver prices.   

Modi said, “Purchases of physical gold during a major festival in India improved last week, albeit at a slower pace than last year, as domestic prices were sitting at near-record highs, while top consumer China saw premiums easing further. Focus this week will be on US consumer confidence data and FOMC meeting.”  

Amit Khare, Associate Vice President at GCL Broking, said, “December Gold closed at 61260 (0.51 per cent) and December Silver closed at 71802 (0.31 per cent). As per the daily chart, bullion structure is looking positive. We can see some further upside movement in the coming future. Traders are advised to make fresh buy positions in Gold and Silver near the given support level one with the stop loss of support level two and book near the given resistance levels: Gold December Support 61100/60800 and Resistance 61500/61700. Silver December Support 71400/70400 and Resistance 72200/73000.”