3 weeks ago
Gold, Silver Volatile Amid Middle East Tensions and US Data
Gold and silver are shiny metals that people buy to keep their money safe.
On Monday, their prices went up and down a little, and silver got slightly more expensive.
There is trouble between countries in the Middle East, a part of the world far away, and that makes investors nervous.
When people are nervous, they often buy gold because they see it as a safe place to keep money.
The US dollar became a little stronger, which made gold cost more for people using other kinds of money.
America also announced that fewer jobs were created last month than people hoped.
Experts say gold is like an insurance policy that protects your money when things go wrong.
Silver can grow in value faster than gold when things go well, but it can also drop faster when things go badly.
So the experts suggest buying mostly gold and only a little silver.
Gold October futures on the MCX were largely unchanged at ₹1,51,870 per 10 grams, while silver September futures rose 0.90% to ₹2,33,532 per kg on 10 August.
Globally, spot gold held steady above $4,300 an ounce, while spot silver climbed 1% to $64.15 an ounce.
Prices were pressured by a 0.20% stronger US dollar and crude oil above $84 a barrel amid uncertainty over reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
US July nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 against expectations of an 80,000 gain, and the labor force participation rate slipped to 61.4%, the lowest outside the pandemic years.
Analysts recommend a gold-heavy core with a smaller silver position, calling gold the steadier hedge and silver a higher-upside, higher-risk trade.
- Who
- Investors and analysts tracking precious metals, including Kaynat Chainwala of Kotak Securities and Harshal Dasani of INVasset PMS; US President Donald Trump and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh are also referenced.
- What
- Gold and silver prices stayed volatile, with silver gaining about 1%, as markets weighed Middle East tensions, a firmer US dollar, higher crude oil and weak US jobs data.
- Where
- India (MCX) and global markets, with geopolitical focus on the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
- When
- Monday, 10 August.
- Why
- Uncertainty over the US-Iran conflict and the Strait of Hormuz reopening, a stronger dollar, rising oil prices, and anticipation of US inflation data and the Federal Reserve's interest-rate outlook.
Gold: The Safe Insurance Play
Silver: The High-Upside Trade
Which precious metal to buy for returns
Gold: The Safe Insurance Play
Gold is the steadier hedge and 'insurance policy': it carries the central-bank bid, answers to US debt rather than industrial cycles, and is the first asset investors reach for if the US-Iran conflict re-escalates.
Silver: The High-Upside Trade
Silver carries meaningful industrial demand alongside investment appeal and moves with roughly twice gold's velocity, so it multiplies returns faster if the conflict resolves and the industrial cycle runs.
Key facts
- MCX gold October futures
- ₹1,51,870 per 10 grams (largely unchanged)
- MCX silver September futures
- ₹2,33,532 per kg (+0.90%)
- Spot gold
- Above $4,300 an ounce
- Spot silver
- $64.15 an ounce (+1%)
- US dollar index
- Up 0.20%
- Crude oil price
- Above $84 a barrel (+1%)
- US July nonfarm payrolls
- Fell by 23,000; May-June revised down by 1,03,000 jobs
- Upcoming US economic data
- CPI on Wednesday, PPI on Thursday
Quotes
Harshal Dasani
Business Head – INVESTMENT, INVasset PMS
“Gold is the insurance policy: it carries the central-bank bid, 337 tonnes bought in the first quarter alone with China now on a 20-month buying streak, it answers to America's $39.9 trillion debt rather than to industrial cycles, and in any re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict it is the first asset the world reaches for.”
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“low-key”
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Kaynat Chainwala
AVP, Commodity Research, Kotak Securities
“Spot gold holds gains above $4,350 an ounce today, while silver trades above $64, both digesting a soft US jobs print rather than reacting to West Asia headlines.”
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