Gold jumps over 4% to Rs 1.60 lakh on MCX, silver rallies 6% as global bullion rebounds on renewed tensions

Gold and silver prices on the Multi-Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) extended their rally on Wednesday, tracking sharp gains in international bullion markets as a softer US dollar and renewed geopolitical tensions boosted safe-haven demand. The rebound came a day after gold posted its strongest single-day gain in over 17 years, underscoring heightened volatility in global precious metals markets.

Internationally, spot gold surged 2.8% to $5,076.01 an ounce, adding to Tuesday’s 5.9% jump—the biggest daily rise since November 2008. Bullion had scaled a record high of $5,594.82 last Thursday before correcting sharply. US gold futures for April delivery climbed 3.3% to $5,097.20 an ounce. The recovery was supported by safe-haven buying after fresh tensions between the US and Iran, following reports that US forces shot down an Iranian drone near an aircraft carrier. Bargain buying at lower levels and profit-taking in the dollar index also aided prices.

On the domestic front, MCX gold April futures opened 3% higher at ₹1,58,420 per 10 grams compared with the previous close of ₹1,53,809. Prices touched an intraday high of ₹1,60,755, marking a gain of as much as 4.51%. Silver prices also saw a sharp rebound. MCX silver March futures opened higher by ₹10,000, or 3.73%, at ₹2,78,015 per kilogram, against the previous close of ₹2,68,015. The white metal jumped as much as 6% to an intraday high of ₹2,84,094 and was trading up nearly 5% at ₹2,81,299 per kg later in the session.

Spot silver prices rose 5% to $89.38 an ounce. The metal has seen extreme swings in recent sessions, after hitting a record high of $121.64 last Thursday before plunging to a month-low of $71.33 on Monday, including a record single-session fall of 27% on Friday.

The rally spilled over into exchange-traded funds, with gold and silver ETFs gaining as much as 9% intraday. Edelweiss Silver ETF, Kotak Gold ETF, Mirae Asset Gold ETF and Bandhan Gold ETF rallied up to 7%, while Nippon India Gold ETF, the largest in the category by assets, rose about 5% to a day’s high of ₹132.

Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities at Mehta Equities, said gold and silver rebounded from recent lows after two sessions of heavy selling, as markets absorbed the nomination of Kevin Warsh as the new US Fed Chairman. “Safe-haven buying strengthened amid geopolitical tensions and a partial US government shutdown, though a firmer rupee capped gains domestically,” he said, outlining key support and resistance levels for both metals.

Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said COMEX gold is consolidating near the $5,000–$5,100 zone after cooling off from its sharp spike, with the broader uptrend remaining intact. He added that MCX gold and silver have stabilised after recent corrections, with dips attracting buying interest and the medium-term outlook remaining constructive despite near-term volatility.

Meanwhile, the gold-silver ratio has recovered to around 60 from an extreme low of 46, signalling a shift after silver’s sharp outperformance and subsequent crash. NS Ramaswamy, Head of Research at Ventura Securities, said these levels could mark a pivot point for rotating from silver into gold, as gold now appears relatively better positioned on a risk-reward basis, with potential to outperform silver in the coming months.