Expert Analysis for Gold and Silver Futures Trading

GoldGold futures ended slightly higher Thursday on a weaker dollar and better equities market amid improving overall economic sentiment, prompting investors to buy precious metals across the board.

Silver futures settled in a positive territory on LME, gaining 0.25 percent. However, it ended slightly lower on MCX due to strength in rupee against the dollar.

IN FOCUS:

Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves fell to $398.3 billion on Aug. 21 from $400.6 billion the previous week, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, said holdings stood at 1,061.83 tonnes as of Aug. 27, unchanged from the previous business day.

Silver retail sale volumes in Dubai fell around 20 percent since January as economic downturn deterred tourists, but a faster recovery is expected than for gold whose price remains high, retailers said on Thursday.

The rate at which gold miners cut their hedging positions rose to 980,000 ounces in the second quarter, from 110,000 ounces in Q1, but remained low compared to the previous year, metals consultancy GFMS said in a report.

Impala Platinum's Rustenburg mine in South Africa said on Thursday the company could carry out mass dismissals of striking workers. The work action was cutting output, he said, as the company does not hold a "significant amount" of ore stocks.

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK:

Gold may show some strength later in the session on the back of inflationary concerns in the U.S as we have inflation numbers from the University of Michigan today evening. The weakness in the dollar against the euro following expected strong sentiment numbers from the euro zone may provide further support to bullions.