Gold and Silver Outlook: Precious metals are expected to remain volatile when markets open on Monday, as the collapse of US-Iran negotiations keeps sentiment fragile, with investors also tracking domestic inflation data and key global signals, analysts say.Apart from developments in West Asia, traders will be watching the US Producer Price Index (PPI), crude oil prices and speeches by Federal Reserve officials to see the trend in bullion prices, news agency PTI reported.The domestic commodity market will remain closed during the morning session on Tuesday due to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti and will be reopened for the evening session.Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said that the American delegation “failed to gain the confidence of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations.”Ghalibaf, who headed the Iranian delegation, said that his country negotiated in good faith and put forward “forward-looking initiatives.”But US Vice President J.D. Vance said that the talks ended without reaching an agreement after Iran refused to accept US conditions on refraining from developing a nuclear weapon.“The focus will be on key Chinese data on trade, investments, growth, etc., along with inflation figures from Eurozone economies.
“In the domestic market, traders will be watching the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation earlier in the week,” said Pranav Mir, Vice President of EBG Commodity and Currency Research at JM Financial Services Ltd.He added that volatility in bullion remains high as markets track developments in the situation between the United States and Iran, noting that progress in the talks will be positive for high-risk assets such as stocks and commodities and may also support precious metals, while any negative developments may lead to renewed volatility.On the Multi Commodity Exchange, precious metals ended the week in green. Silver futures rose by Rs 10,779, or nearly 5 per cent, while gold rose by Rs 2,972, or about 2 per cent.Mir said: “Gold prices closed higher for the third week in a row, supported by a weak dollar, safe-haven buying amid continued geopolitical uncertainty in West Asia, and reports of a recovery in physical demand in countries such as India and China.”He also noted that weaker-than-expected US economic data and signs of rising inflation due to higher oil prices have increased expectations that the Fed may keep interest rates steady.In global markets, gold futures on the Comex rose $107.7, or 2.3 percent, last week, while silver rose $3.56, or nearly 5 percent.Silver also recorded gains of more than 4.5 percent during the week, supported by strength in gold, renewed buying in industrial metals, a structural deficit in the physical market and a weak US dollar.Analysts said that market participants will closely follow developments around the expected negotiations between Israel and Lebanon next week in Washington to obtain further signals about bullion price trends.