Gold and silver prices are likely to remain within their range next week as investors track developments in the US-Iran conflict, key global macroeconomic data and domestic political signals, analysts said.Market participants will watch PMI readings from major economies early in the week, followed by US labor market indicators and non-farm payrolls data later in the week for signals on monetary policy and bullion demand.“Next week, precious metals price momentum is expected to remain mixed with focus on developments related to the US-Iran conflict and follow-up peace talks,” said Pranav Mir, Vice President, EBG – Commodity and Currency Research, JM Financial Services Ltd.On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures fell by Rs 1,347, or nearly 1 per cent, to settle at Rs 1.51 lakh per 10 gram last week.Silver outperformed gold and rose by Rs 879 to close at Rs 2.50 lakh per kg during the same period.“Gold traded largely within a wide range last week, ending with a negative bias to close at Rs 1.51 lakh per 10 gram on MSX,” said Jatin Trivedi, Vice President Research Analyst – Commodities & Currencies, LKP Securities.
Despite the weaker close, Trivedi said the metal showed resilience after recovering from lower levels, largely supported by profit-taking in crude oil during the latter half of the week.He added that this eased concerns about inflation and supported bullion prices.In international markets, Comex gold futures fell $96.4, or 2.03 percent, to close at $4,644.5 an ounce during the week.Silver fell by about 1 percent to close at $75.84 an ounce in New York.Mir said bullion prices were under pressure due to a shift in investor preference towards higher-risk assets such as stocks, coupled with caution from major central banks about the inflationary risks associated with rising crude oil prices.He added that exchange-traded fund investors remained net sellers last week, while the latest weekly holdings data is due on Monday.On the physical demand side, Mir said buying remained mixed, as volatile global prices and a weak rupee kept many buyers away, with similar trends emerging in other centres.Trivedi said the movement of the rupee will remain a major factor in domestic bullion prices.He said that any rise in the value of the Indian currency may affect local gold prices even if global prices remain stable.In addition, the results of the upcoming state elections may create short-term volatility in the rupee and broader market sentiment, he added.