Gold Price Today: Gold becomes more expensive, 24 carat at ₹ 1,50,860 in Delhi; Global prices strengthened by 1.3% in a week

The shine of the yellow metal has further increased in the Indian bullion markets amid strong demand for safe-haven demand in the international commodity markets and aggressive buying of gold against the dollar by global central banks. On Saturday, October 10, the price of 24 carat pure gold has increased to a record level of ₹ 1,50,860 per 10 grams (approximately ₹ 15,086 per gram) in the retail and wholesale bullion market of the national capital Delhi. Whereas for jewelery demand, the best selling 22 carat gold was seen stable at ₹1,38,300 per 10 grams. In the foreign markets, the spot price of gold in COMEX and London Bullion Market has registered a significant rise of 1.3 percent in the last one week. Rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia, expectations of interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve and domestic demand from the festive season have kept gold prices at historic highs domestically.

According to the rates released by the Indian Bullion Association and leading bullion traders, gold prices per 10 grams in major cities of the country today were recorded as follows:

Note: There may be slight variation in the final retail price of finished jewelery after adding making charges and 3% Goods and Services Tax (GST) at local jewelers.

Many major global and macro-economic reasons are behind the 1.3 percent rise in international gold prices within a week:

1. Geopolitical crisis and safe-haven buying: Due to continuing tensions in West Asia and the Red Sea region, global investors are withdrawing capital from risky assets (equities) and investing in safe havens like gold.

2. Weakness in US dollar index: The recent slowdown in the US Dollar Index and Treasury yields has increased the attraction of institutional buyers towards non-interest-bearing assets (such as gold and silver).

3. Continued buying by global central banks: Many central banks, including the People’s Bank of China, Bank of Poland and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), are continuously increasing their reserves of physical gold in place of dollars to diversify their foreign exchange reserves.

4. Domestic festive and marital demand: In India, physical demand from bullion traders and retail buyers has reached its peak due to Dhanteras, Diwali and the upcoming wedding season, which has led to a strengthening of domestic premiums.

It is mandatory to take care of purity and hallmarking while buying gold jewelry or coins. According to Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) rules, only jewelery with 6 digit HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification) code is legal for sale in the country:

• 24 Carat (99.9% pure): its hallmark issue 999 It happens. This is the purest gold, which is mainly used in making gold coins, biscuits and bars. It is extremely soft, hence intricately designed jewelery cannot be made from it.

• 22 carat (91.6% pure): its hallmark issue 916 It happens. In this, 91.6% pure gold and the remaining copper, silver or zinc is mixed to provide the required strength to the jewellery. Traditional Indian wedding jewelery is made here.

• 18 carat (75.0% pure): its hallmark issue 750 It happens. 18 carat gold is considered most suitable for making diamond-studded jewelery because it is hard and holds the stones firmly.

Commodity analysts believe that gold has maintained a strong bullish breakout on the technical charts. As long as geopolitical uncertainties persist at the international level, there is little chance of a major fall in gold. However, retail buyers are advised to consider options like digital gold, gold ETFs or Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) in addition to physical jewelery where there are no deductions for making charges and impurities and the entire returns are directly linked to market movements. Traders in Lucknow’s Aminabad, Chowk, Delhi’s Kucha Mahajani (Chandni Chowk) and Kanpur’s Nayaganj Sarafa Bazaar say that despite the high prices, there will be a huge surge in token purchases and sales of light weight designer jewelery on the upcoming Dhanteras.