Gold prices drop slightly ahead of Dhanteras 2024, here’s why

Spot gold prices declined to ₹77,917.00 per 10 grams around 6:20 pm IST on Monday, October 28, 2024, the day just before Dhanteras, according to MCX data. This comes after prices had consistently rallied for most for the better part of the year.
Meanwhile, Gold futures prices on the MCX for December 05, 2024 dropped slightly by 0.04% or by ₹30 to ₹78,536.
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Notably, the recent dip in the prices of Gold can be linked to a strengthened US dollar (currently at ₹84.0725 per dollar), as investors are closely monitoring US macroeconomic data, including inflation and GDP reports, to gauge potential rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
The slight short-term drop in gold prices comes just before the day of Dhanteras. Historically, gold prices around the time of Dhanteras and Diwali have surged nearly 30% since the past year.
Jewellers and retailers in India are expecting the demand to stay muted and volumes to decline this Dhanteras despite lower customs duty as the price of the yellow metal has hit record-high levels ahead of Diwali festivities.
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In fact, gold has outperformed domestic equities, with the benchmark BSE Sensex rising only 10.79% this year, making it a compelling investment choice amidst market fluctuations.
Global stock indices rose on Monday as investors awaited earnings reports this week from several of the biggest U.S. tech-related companies, while oil prices dropped 6% after Israel’s retaliatory strike against Iran at the weekend bypassed oil and nuclear facilities.
The Japanese yen fell to a three-month low against the dollar following an election in Japan thrust the country into political turmoil.
US earnings season is in full swing, with a long list of names due to report this week including five of the biggest US companies: Google parent Alphabet, Microsoft, Facebook owner Meta Platforms, Apple and Amazon.com.
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