B. Krishna Kumar

Precious metals extended their lacklustre performance in December too. The range-bound price action witnessed in November spilled over to December as well with the price of both gold and silver remaining in a broad range.

The lack of any meaningful triggers played a key role in keeping the precious metals prices under check.

Comex gold closed 1.29% lower in December to settle at $2,639.3 an ounce. Comex silver saw a relatively steeper cut of 5.82% in December to settle at $29.29 an ounce.

Reflecting the lacklustre trend in the global markets, MCX gold closed 0.45% lower to settle at ₹76,777 per 10-gram at the end of December. MCX silver lost 4.3% in last month to close at ₹87,226 per kilogram.

As anticipated last month, Comex gold price remained in a broad range, devoid of any meaningful trend. The recent price action is likely to persist with Comex gold likely to remain in the range of $2,530-2,730.

A breakout from this range would set the tone for the next big move.

Medium-term outlook

As observed in prior updates, the medium-term outlook is positive for Comex gold. The price is likely to resume its uptrend once the ongoing consolidation is over.

The next major target for Comex gold is $2,850-$2,900. The journey towards this target would commence on the completion of the anticipated short-term consolidation.

Weak trend likely

In line with expectations, Comex silver too was stuck in a broad range of $29.75-$31 mentioned last month. Silver price is likely to trade in the range of $29-$31.8 in the short-term. The short-term outlook for silver appears negative and the price could slip to the immediate target of $26.5-$27. The price has to move above $33 to indicate the resumption of long-term uptrend. Until the Comex silver price moves above $33, expect a range bound to weak trend to persist.

In sync with last month’s expectations, MCX gold price was confined to a range, devoid of any meaningful price movement on either direction. The gold price is likely to meander in the ₹73,500-₹79,200 range in the near term. A breakout from this range would influence the next directional move in MCX gold.

MCX silver price has been in a downtrend since December 11, 2024. The recent downward move is likely to sustain in the near future and a fall to the next support zone at ₹83,500-₹84,500 appears likely. This view would be invalidated if the silver price moves above ₹96,000-level.

To summarise, gold is likely to be confined in a range in the next few weeks. A move out of this range would set the tone for the next directional move.

Silver prices on the other hand looks relatively weak and could seek lower levels.

(The author is a Chennai based analyst/trader. The views and opinion featured in this column are based on the analysis of short-term price movement in gold and silver futures at COMEX & Multi Commodity Exchange of India. This is not meant to be a trading or investment advice.)