MCX gold falls near 2%; silver crashes Rs 15,000

Gold futures slipped below $4,600 an ounce, with the silver futures falling below $78 an ounce in Asia electronic trades on Friday, retreating from two-month highs as a stronger US dollar and mounting inflation fears pressured precious metals. MCX July silver futures plunged over Rs 15,000 to Rs 275,835 per kg after touching a record Rs 304,891 earlier this week. MCX Gold futures for June delivery traded lower by nearly 2%, hitting an intraday low of Rs 158800 per 10 grams. Persistent inflation fueled by the prolonged Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has strengthened expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike, pushing the dollar index near 99 and weighing heavily on silver prices. Markets have now largely ruled out a Fed rate cut this year. Despite the sharp pullback, silver remains supported by structural supply deficits and resilient industrial demand from sectors such as electronics and solar energy, helping the metal outperform several precious peers this week.

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