Silver rate today: Silver prices recovered over 3% on Friday, March 20, after 3 sessions of losses on the back of a softer dollar. However, the white metal was headed for a weekly decline weighed down by a hawkish US Federal Reserve stance that has reduced expectations of near-term rate cuts. The decision to hold rates steady comes amid rising crude oil prices, which are adding to inflationary pressures.
On MCX, silver price advanced 3.7% or over ₹8,500 to ₹2,40,000 per kg. Meanwhile, MCX gold price also added 2.3% or around ₹2,350 to ₹1,48,302 per 10 gram.
Spot silver gained 0.1% to $73 per ounce. Spot gold firmed 0.2% to $4,657.50 per ounce as of 0112 GMT. Bullion has lost more than 7% so far this week. U.S. gold futures for April delivery rose 1.1% to $4,657.90.
Spot platinum rose 0.1% at $1,972.80 and palladium added 0.4% to $1,452.21.
What’s driving the price?
The US dollar pulled back from multi-month highs this week as surging energy prices disrupted expectations for global interest rates, leaving the US Federal Reserve as the only major central bank not expected to raise rates this year.
Prior to the escalation of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran in late February, markets had been pricing in two rate cuts from the Fed this year. However, those expectations have now shifted significantly, with even a single rate cut appearing increasingly unlikely.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices fell from previous session but remained above $105 per barrel after briefly spiking to $119 on Thursday, following fresh attacks by Iran on key energy targets across the Middle East.
Tensions are likely to ease as US President Donald Trump urged Israel to avoid additional strikes on Iran’s natural gas infrastructure, after a series of retaliatory attacks on energy facilities triggered a sharp surge in prices and intensified the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.
However, Iran’s military described the strikes on its energy infrastructure as a “new stage in the war,” signalling a broader escalation and vowing to target energy assets linked to the United States.
Meanwhile, the continued disruption and effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz kept crude prices elevated, fuelling inflationary pressures globally by raising transportation and manufacturing costs. While higher inflation typically supports gold as a hedge, elevated interest rates tend to limit demand for the non-yielding asset.
Across global markets, most major developed market central banks opted to keep interest rates unchanged this week, while indicating they remain prepared to tighten policy further if the energy-driven inflation shock persists.
Technical Triggers
Renisha Chainani, Head of Research at Augmont, said gold has approached its key support level of $4,850 (around ₹1,52,000) and is likely to consolidate near current levels.
She added that silver is currently testing an important support zone at $75 (around ₹2,50,000), and a breach below this level could trigger further downside, with prices potentially slipping towards the $72–70 range (around ₹2,35,000– ₹2,30,000).
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