Gold prices in the domestic market were down despite positive global cues for the metal. In the domestic market, the price of 10 grams of 22 carat gold now stands at Rs 53,050, down from Rs 53,150 per 10 grams on Wednesday.
Thanks to the festive season, as well as a growing demand in the wedding market, platinum, a precious metal much harder than gold and therefore more difficult to work with, has seen a significant increase in sales.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell by 82 cents, or 1%, to $85.79 per barrel by 0132 GMT, while US crude futures CLc1 fell by $1.04, or 1.3%, to $79.10 per barrel.
The dollar index was down slightly at 103.29 in early trade, extending losses after Powell's comments on Tuesday, making oil cheaper for those holding other currencies.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures crawled up 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $80.10 a barrel at 0022 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose 15 cents, also 0.2% higher, to $73.54 a barrel.
On Thursday, the rupee opened at 81.81 against the greenback and touched an intra-day high of 81.71 and a low of 82.20 at the interbank foreign exchange market.
The Federal Reserve raised its target interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, yet continued to promise "ongoing increases" in borrowing costs as part of its ongoing battle against inflation.
Brent crude futures rose 54 cents, or 0.6%, to $87.20 a barrel by 0115 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $80.22 a barrel, up 54 cents, or 0.7%.
Brent crude LCOc1 had risen 5 cents to $88.24 per barrel by 0116 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 rose 13 cents to $81.75 per barrel.
Chinese oil demand climbed by nearly 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from the previous month to 15.41 million bpd in November, the highest level since February, according to the latest export figures published by the Joint Organisations Data Initiative.
Adding to the pall, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed US crude oil inventories rose by about 7.6 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 13, according to market sources.
In a bearish survey released at the Davos summit, two-thirds of private and public sector economists polled expected a global recession this year, with about 18% considering it "extremely likely".
