Gold price slides further to Rs 47,600 per 10 gm, silver at Rs 68,000 a kg

In New Delhi, the 22-carat gold price fell by Rs 400 to Rs 46,500 per 10 gm, while in Chennai it declined to Rs 44,830

Gold price on Friday slipped to Rs 47,600 from Rs 49,000, while silver price fell by Rs 1,000 to trend at Rs 68,000 per kg, according to the Good Returns website.

Gold jewellery prices vary across India, the second-largest consumer of the metal, due to differing excise duty, state taxes, and making changes in different states.

In New Delhi, the price of 22-carat gold fell by Rs 400 to Rs 46,500 per 10 gm, while in Chennai it declined to Rs 44,830. In Mumbai, the rate fell by Rs 1,400 to Rs 46,600, according to the Good Returns website. The price of 24-carat gold in Chennai was Rs 48,900 per 10 gm.  

In the international market, Gold dropped more than 2 per cent on Thursday to break below the key psychological $1,800 level as a jump in the dollar and US Treasury yields eroded bullion's appeal.

Spot gold was 2.3 per cent lower at $1,790.92 per ounce by 10:44 a.m EST (1544 GMT), after touching a more than two-month low of $1,784.76. US gold futures slipped 2.5 per cent to $1,788.80.

Silver was caught in the slipstream, losing 2.6 per cent to $26.16.

Silver prices have declined more than 13 per cent since a GameStop-style retail frenzy sent them to their highest in nearly eight years at $30.03 on Monday.

The steepening of the yield curve "ultimately means the cost of holding gold across the curve is increasing. Gold could go even lower and consolidate in response to... the whole idea that the US and global economy is recovering," said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities.

However, going forward silver could benefit from its demand for industrial purposes, Melek added.

Allaying some concerns over the health of the economy was a drop in Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week.

Making bullion more expensive for holders of other currencies, the dollar scaled an more than two-month peak while longer-term US Treasury yields rose on anticipation of a large pandemic relief package from Washington and a stabilizing US labor market.

While gold usually gains from more stimulus, since it is considered a hedge against inflation from widespread stimulus measures, higher yields challenge that status because they increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

"Growing expectations about a relatively quick end to the pandemic are raising economic recovery hopes and with it the likelihood of central banks reducing the current hyper-dovish monetary stimulus," ActivTrades chief analyst Carlo Alberto De Casa said in a note.