Gold prices at 3-month high; here's why

Gold has turned around and even as the market is looking at interest rate hikes in this year, the history shows that once the interest rate hike begins, gold falls in the pattern of rising even further and that is exactly what the market is anticipating this year.

The gold prices are at three-month highs in the international markets. It was at USD 1800 per ounce at the start of the current year, and is now trading at UDS 1887 per ounce, so nearly USD 80-90 of a jump up has been witnessed in 2022 so far - Rs 50,200 per 10 gm on gold MCX, this is the level the market has been waiting for a very long time.

Global signal: Market pricing in 38 bps Fed rate hike for March versus 45 bps priced last Friday

There are various supportive factors – it has to do with the geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine and gold does gain when there are geopolitical tensions. Then there are global inflation concerns as well. The market is reacting to the US inflation numbers for the month of January, which has come in the highest since the last 40 years and that is the kind of inflation numbers that the market has seen from various parts of the world. Crude oil prices are also trading at a 7-year high which shows that there is buying.