Gold, Silver Prices Drop Today: Check 22K and 24K Rates In Your City On May 22

In the international market, spot gold was down 0.4% at $4,522.89 per ounce by 0222 GMT. The metal was down about 0.3% for the week so far. US gold futures for June delivery lost 0.4% to $4,524.40.

The dollar held near a six-week high, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for holders of other currencies. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there had been “some good signs” in talks with Iran, although Tehran’s uranium stockpile and control over the Strait of Hormuz remained sticking points.

Oil prices climbed as investors doubted the prospects of a breakthrough in US-Iran peace talks. Elevated oil prices stoke inflation risks and fears of interest rates staying higher for longer. While gold is traditionally seen as a hedge against inflation, higher interest rates tend to weigh on the non-yielding metal.

Markets are pricing in a Fed rate hike before year-end, with a 60% chance of a move by December, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. US President Donald Trump will swear in Kevin Warsh as the Fed chair on Friday at the White House, the Trump administration said.

How businesses and consumers respond to ongoing economic shocks will determine if the Fed can “look through” current high inflation or needs to consider raising interest rates, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, last week, PM Modi appealed to people to avoid buying gold for a year, in order to save forex reserves.

Following this, the government on Wednesday hiked import duty on gold and silver to 15 per cent to curb non-essential imports amid the West Asia crisis which has put pressure on forex reserves.

Effective May 13, import duty on gold and silver has been increased from 6 per cent to 15 per cent and that on platinum has been raised from 6.4 per cent to 15.4 per cent. Consequential changes have also been made to other items such as gold/silver dore, coins, findings, etc.

On May 16, the Centre has tightened import rules for certain categories of silver bars by changing their import status from “Free” to “Restricted” with immediate effect, in a move that comes amid rising concerns over India’s import bill, pressure on the rupee, and global uncertainty linked to the ongoing West Asia crisis.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, issued a notification on Saturday, amending the import policy for specific categories of silver covered under Chapter 71 of the Indian Trade Classification (ITC) Harmonised System (HS) 2022 import policy schedule.

Under the revised policy, import of silver bars — containing 99.9 per cent or more silver by weight (ITC HS Code 71069221) and ‘Bar—Other’ categories (ITC HS Code 71069229) — which were earlier freely importable subject to RBI regulations, will now be classified as “Restricted”.

Certain categories of silver imports have also been brought under Reserve Bank of India regulations.

What Factors Affect Gold Prices In India?