Gold futures decline as equities look up

Gold prices slipped by 0.34 per cent in futures trade today as speculators and investors indulged in reducing their holdings in bullion to shift funds in the surging stock markets.

On the Multi-Commodity Exchange, gold for the August contract fell by 0.34 per cent to Rs 14,239 per 10 gm. The contract traded 247 lots.

The precious metal for the June contract was down by 0.32 per cent to Rs 13,232 in trading of 4,416 lots.

Marketmen said the bullion is losing sheen as investors and speculators are preferring the equity markets as a better place to park their funds. A weakening overseas trend was another dampening factor for the bullion, they added.

Meanwhile, the gold traded little lower in Asia as a rally in global equities resumed, eroding demand for the precious metal as a store of value. Gold was a shade lower at $891.65 an ounce in early trade in Singapore. Gold has lost 3.4 per cent in the past month while the benchmark MSCI Asia-Pacific Index surged 17 per cent.