Gold prices today at Rs 53,394 per 10 gram, silver at Rs 67,072 a kg

Gold prices skidded to Rs 53,394 per 10 gram on Thursday following decline in the international prices of precious metal while silver prices also dropped to Rs 67,072 per kg, according to Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association. 

Gold jewellery prices vary across India, the second-largest consumer of the metal, due to excise duty, state taxes, and making charges.

In New Delhi, prices of 22-carat gold rose sharply to Rs 51,850 from Rs 51,150 per 10 gram in the previous trade while prices of 24-carat was at Rs 56,560, up by over Rs 1,000. In Chennai, the rate for 22-carat dropped to Rs 51,560 while for 24-carat it was Rs 56,240. In Mumbai, 10 gram 22-carat was retailing lower at Rs 51,980, according to Good Returns website.

On MCX, gold futures for October plunged 1.77% to Rs 56,622 while silver futures for September plummeted nearly 2% to Rs 68,129 from Rs 69,575 in the previous trade. 

Multi Commodity Exchange of India last week said it will launch a liquidity enhancement scheme in the newly launched segment 'options on goods' with gold mini contract.

The liquidity enhancement scheme, popularly known as market making, will start from September 1, MCX said in a circular.

"The Exchange, based on a competitive bidding process, will appoint the lowest (qualified) bidder in terms of 'bid incentive amount' as a single designated market maker for the product till the scheme remains in force. The maximum incentive bid amount is Rs 40 lakh per month," the exchange circular added.

In international market, gold dipped below $2,000 an ounce on Wednesday partly in response to a pause in the dollar's slide as investors awaited more details on the US Federal Reserve's strategy to revive the pandemic-hit economy.

"Gold prices pared previous gains on dollar recovery as dollar index witnessed recovery on Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes," HDFC Securities Senior Analyst (Commodities) Tapan Patel said.

Spot gold fell 0.8% to $1,984.74 per ounce, having hit a one-week high of $2,014.97 on Tuesday.

US gold futures were down 1.1% at $1,991.20.

The dollar was up 0.1% versus major currencies, pausing its slide that had pushed the currency to a more than two-year low on Tuesday.

While gold dipped on the steadier dollar, expectations of further dollar weakness could prompt gold to "carve out a more sustained presence above $2,000 and reach new record highs," said FXTM market analyst Han Tan.

"The release of the latest FOMC minutes could offer another gust of wind in bullion bulls' sails, especially if there is an obvious signal that the Fed is willing to tolerate faster U.S. inflation," Tan added.