Gold still on the back foot: Standard Bank

“Gold is still on the back foot. With more dollar strength in the pipeline, the yellow metal is putting up little resistance,” said a Standard Bank report on Wednesday.

On MCX, the December contract for gold was trading at (14:54 IST) Rs12,188, down by about 1.5% from its day’s high of Rs12,317 on Wednesday.

MCX Gold December gold prices plunged to Rs12,307 levels and settled at Rs12,377 levels on Tuesday.

“Market is expected to come down and the next supports can be seen at Rs12,200 and then Rs12,050 levels,” said a Karvy Comtrade report on Wednesday.

The report also mentioned that the resistances can be seen at Rs12,400 and then at Rs12,436 levels. “If market sustains below Rs12,436 we may expect gold trading lower. We recommend taking short positions for the day,” it added.

The Standard Bank report also mentioned that after a steady opening just below $800 in Tokyo, gold moved gradually south as the euro weakened. At $790, some stops were triggered, and the metal quickly fell to $785, it said.

“With the dollar still on the rise, gold could remain under pressure today. Primary support is at $757, and a secondary support band at $742 - $720. Resistance is at $794, $810 and $818,” it said.

WGC, HDFC Bank tie up to extend personal loans

World Gold Council (WGC) has got-together with HDFC Bank to offer personal loans for gold buyers. The step taken is in effort to boost gold sales in India. The service is expected to be launched across the country over next few days.

HDFC will provide personal loans at an interest rate of 16%. In place of security against the loan the bank will keep back the purchased gold on behalf of the customers until the entire cost is paid back to the bank. Starting three months from the date of purchase the consumer can pay the entire amount of loan in installments.

Initially the bank will provide loans for up to 50gm of pure gold but plans to provide loans for bigger investors too in the future.