Gold continues climb, traders wary

Gold demand in India to stay sluggish in the coming months due to a lack of weddings and festivals during the monsoon

Indian physical traders stayed on the sidelines on Thursday as gold extended gains for a fourth straight session, inching closer to its peak, helped by a weaker rupee.

At 4:00 PM, the most-active gold for August delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was 0.31% higher at Rs 30,128 per 10 grams, after gaining 1.67% in the previous three sessions.

The contract had struck a peak of Rs 30,295 on June 6.

The rupee, which weakened on Thursday, plays an important role in determining the landed cost of the dollar-quoted yellow metal.

Global gold was steady at $1,618.58 an ounce by 2:30 PM, after rising nearly 2% over the past four sessions, its longest winning streak since late April.

"Sales are bad as people are not accepting price levels above 30,000 rupees," said Harshad Ajmera, proprietor of JJ Gold House in Kolkata.

Gold demand in India is likely to remain sluggish in the coming months due to a lack of weddings and festivals during the monsoon.

Silver futures also gained for the fourth straight session.

Silver for July delivery on the MCX was 0.22% higher at Rs 55,134 per kg.