Overview
- Precious metals fell into a short-term consolidation after traders booked profits following a multi-session rally, with domestic MCX gold trading below the ₹1.53 lakh/10g mark on Friday and spot gold near $4,300–$4,350.
- U.S. inflation data this week — including a flat July PPI and in-line CPI — trimmed market-implied odds of a September Fed rate hike to roughly one-third, a shift that undercut the urgency for further monetary tightening and helped cap bullion gains.
- Renewed U.S.-Iran tensions, including reports of possible economic isolation measures and talk of keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed, sent Brent crude sharply higher and added a geopolitical risk premium that complicates the inflation and Fed outlook for gold.
- Analysts are divided on near-term strategy: some brokers see a bullish breakout with targets up to ₹1.60 lakh per 10g, while others recommend sell-on-rise or profit-booking between roughly ₹1.52 lakh and ₹1.53 lakh, with immediate support cited in the ₹1.51–1.52 lakh band.
- Longer-term structural support remains from ongoing central-bank and sovereign gold buying, and markets will watch incoming U.S. employment and inflation prints plus Jackson Hole remarks for the next clear directional cue.