Domestic gold prices extended gains on Thursday as global gold benchmarks remained unchanged ahead of US inflation data. On MCX, gold prices rose as much as 0.1 percent to Rs 51,568 per 10 grams on Thursday. White metal futures, however, fell 0.5 percent to Rs 61,251 per kg.
The dollar index — which gauges the strength of the greenback against six peers — was last down 0.2 percent at 110.2.
Crude oil prices fell on Thursday for the fourth consecutive day as COVID curbs in China triggered demand concerns. The rupee depreciated by 21 paise to 81.65 vs the dollar on Thursday. The currency touched a five-week high in the previous session.
"Economists are expecting a drop in both monthly and yearly core CPI numbers that might be supportive for gold prices as lower inflation could prompt Fed to slow down its rate hike pace," said Ravindra Rao, VP-Head Commodity Research at Kotak Securities Ltd. Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities, Mehta Equities Ltd, expects high volatility in Thursday's session.
Indian equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 opened in the red on Thursday amid weakness in other Asian equities.
