The prices of silver fell on India's MCX on Thursday, March 19, amid geopolitical tensions, and US Federal Reserve maintained a hawkish stance.
On Thursday at 3:30 pm, MCX Silver May contracts were 6.12% down at Rs 2,33,008 per kg, while MCX Gold April Futures fell 6.12% to Rs 1,47,490.
The price drop comes amid inflation concerns, led by a rise in crude oil prices, which reduced safe-haven demand for precious metals and lowered expectations of interest rate cuts by the Fed.
How much does silver cost in your city?
Here's a look at silver costs in your city on March 19 -
New Delhi - Rs 2,32,530
Mumbai - Rs 2,33,050
Bengaluru - Rs 2,33,720
Chennai - Rs 2,33,720
Hyderabad - Rs 2,33,420
ALSO READ | Gold Price Today: Yellow Metal Plunges By Rs 6,000 On MCX After Hawkish Outlook By Fed
What's impacting silver prices?
Earlier in the day, silver stood around $75 per ounce with a steep fall of 5% in the previous session, as the Fed maintained a cautious stance and surging oil prices impacted the metals, PTI reported, citing Jigar Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst at IndusInd Securities.
Meanwhile, Renisha Chainani, Head of Research at Augmont, told the news agency that silver prices were as a strong US dollar, which outweighed safe-haven demand from Middle East tensions.
The Fed kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday and highlighted inflation risks due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions, indicating a cautious stance towards monetary policy easing. The US central bank said that it did not plan to cut rates till inflation eased. However, one rate reduction is expected later this year.
With the fresh escalation of the conflict, crude oil prices rose sharply, with Brent futures touching $116 per barrel in the global markets.
The Middle East conflict intensified after Israel targeted the Iranian South Pars gas field.
"This marks a significant widening of the conflict, raising energy security concerns and inflation risks, while increasing uncertainty across global markets," Chainani was quoted as saying said.
The current impact of the precious metals is the combined impact of geopolitical tensions, energy costs, and Fed's stance has put pressure on silver prices.
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