Gold Price Today: The yellow metal rate on India's MCX plunged nearly 5% on Monday, March 23 amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
At 9:01 am on Monday, the MCX gold April futures contract fell 4.89% to Rs 1,37,399 per 10 grams, while the MCX silver May futures dropped 5.95% to Rs 2,13,290 per kg.
In the global markets, gold plunged around 3.8% to near $4,320.3 an ounce, less than a dollar above where it ended last year, according to Bloomberg data. Spot gold fell 3.3% to $4,343.4 an ounce at 9 am in Singapore, while silver dropped 3.4% to $ 65.61.
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Ever since the Middle East conflict started, rising oil prices have increased inflationary risks and lessened hopes for near-term interest-rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks. This has impacted the price of non-yielding gold, which has dropped for eight consecutive sessions and recorded its biggest weekly drop since 1983. Since February 28, after the conflict began, the yellow metal's drop has been partly led by forced selling as investors look to cover losses elsewhere in their portfolios, according to Bloomberg. The bullion ended last year at $4,319.37 an ounce.
Volatility Amid Middle East Conflict
The prices of precious metals have remained volatile amid the Middle East conflict. Even though geopolitical tensions in the region generally support gold prices, the current situation is witnessing a shift in the flow of safe-haven assets towards the US dollar.
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump issued a 48-hour deadline to Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or threatened to target its power plants. Iran responded to the threat, saying that it would close the key waterway “completely” and target energy, information technology, and desalination infrastructure if its power facilities come under attack.
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