Gold and silver futures strengthened on Friday, driven by strong global trends, as investors flocked to safe-haven assets amid expectations of lower US interest rates.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures for February delivery climbed ₹948, or 0.7%, to ₹1,36,752 per 10 grams in a business turnover of 15,639 lots.
The precious metal had settled at ₹1,35,804 per 10 grams on Thursday, up by ₹357, or 0.3%, from Wednesday's closing of ₹1,35,447 per 10 grams.
1 January 2026
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MCX was open only for the day session, and remained closed in the evening trade on Thursday, owing to the New Year holiday.
Silver futures also traded higher on the commodities bourse. The white metal for the March contract surged by ₹7,107, or 3.01%, to ₹2,42,980 per kilogram in 13,397 lots.
It had settled at ₹2,35,873 per kg on Thursday, compared with Wednesday's close of ₹2,35,701 per kg.
In the international market, Comex gold futures started on a firm note on the first trading day of the year. The yellow metal for February delivery rose $46.10, or 1.06%, to $4,387.20 per ounce.
The metal had closed 1% lower at $4,341.1 per ounce on Wednesday, the final session of 2025.
"Gold rose to around $4,385 per ounce on the first trading day of 2026 (international market), extending its bullish momentum from its strongest annual performance in more than four decades," Jigar Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, said.
He added that the metal gained over 60% last year, driven by sweeping US tariffs, expectations of lower US borrowing costs, persistent geopolitical uncertainty, central bank purchases, and renewed inflows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
US markets remained shut on Thursday for the New Year holiday.
Comex silver futures for the March contract also gained by $2.4, or 3.4%, to $73 per ounce in the overseas trade on Friday. The white metal had crashed by $7.32, or 9.39%, to settle at $70.6 per ounce on Wednesday.
"Silver climbed to around $73 per ounce on the first trading day of 2026, supported by its designation as a critical US mineral, tight supply conditions, low stockpiles, and strengthening industrial and investment demand.
"On the geopolitical front, the US tightened restrictions on Venezuela's oil exports, renewed Russia-Ukraine attacks over the New Year period, damaging key energy infrastructure, and China's new export curbs over silver from January 1 also continued to lift the demand for the safe-haven asset, he noted.
