Gold, Silver Prices Fall Today: Check 22K and 24K Rates In Your City On May 18

In the international market, spot gold was steady at $4,540.36 per ounce, as of 0241 GMT, after hitting its lowest level since March 30 earlier in the session. US gold futures for June delivery lost 0.4% to $4,543.70.

Gold fell to its lowest since March 30 earlier in the session as ongoing tensions in the Middle East boosted oil prices, fuelling concerns around inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates.

A drone strike caused a fire at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, officials there said on Sunday. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, reported intercepting three drones, as US President Donald Trump warned that Iran must act “fast” after efforts to end the US-Israeli war appeared to have stalled.

Oil prices extended gains on Monday to hit a two-week high.

Elevated oil prices have sparked concerns about inflation. Central banks tend to hike interest rates during periods of inflation, which in turn dims the appeal of non-yielding bullion. Markets are increasingly pricing in a US Federal Reserve rate hike before year-end, with a 50% chance of a move by December, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

Investors now await minutes of the Fed’s April meeting, due to be released this week, for clues on the central bank’s monetary policy direction.

Meanwhile, India has curbed imports of silver in nearly all forms with immediate effect, according to a government order issued on Saturday, as the world’s biggest consumer of the metal seeks to rein in shipments and ease pressure on the rupee.

Meanwhile, PM Modi earlier this week 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?