Mumbai, May 11, 2026, 16:36 IST
Gold fell about 1% on Monday as a jump in crude oil after stalled U.S.-Iran peace efforts brought inflation and high-rate worries back into bullion trading. Spot gold, the price for immediate delivery, was down 1% at $4,667.99 an ounce at 0852 GMT, while U.S. June gold futures lost 1.1%; “Inflation risks still weigh heavy on the market’s collective mind,” said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Bybit. Reuters
That matters more for India than a routine move in global metals. The rupee ended at a record low of 95.31 to the dollar after Brent crude rose 2.5% to $103.8 a barrel, with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz still paralysed; higher oil prices threaten to widen India’s current account gap, slow growth and stoke inflation, Reuters reported.
The domestic pressure widened after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to avoid gold purchases for a year to help protect foreign exchange reserves. Shares of jewellery retailers including Titan, Senco Gold and Kalyan Jewellers fell between 6% and 9%, while Surendra Mehta, national secretary at the India Bullion and Jewellers Association, said there were concerns the government could “sharply increase import duty on gold”; a government source separately said there were no plans to raise duties on gold or silver imports. Reuters
The move hit the broader market too. Arun Kejriwal, founder of Kejriwal Research and Investment Services, called Monday’s selloff a “knee-jerk reaction” to Modi’s comments, but said the larger overhang was “oil refusing to fall and hold below $100” despite peace efforts between Iran and the United States. Reuters
In Gujarat’s physical market, the weakness had already shown up over the weekend. Gujarat Samachar reported that the official Mumbai bullion market was shut on Saturday, but off-market quotes softened with global prices; Ahmedabad 995-purity gold fell ₹500 to ₹155,200 per 10 grams, while silver dropped ₹2,000 to ₹250,000 per kg. Mumbai gold prices, quoted without GST, India’s goods and services tax, also fell ₹500.
IBJA’s daily bullion report dated May 11 listed 999-purity gold — near-pure 24-carat metal — at ₹151,140 per 10 grams in the AM rate and ₹151,078 in the PM rate, excluding GST. Silver 999 was listed at ₹255,200 in the AM rate and ₹255,600 in the PM rate.
On MCX, India’s commodity futures exchange, June gold contracts were down ₹462, or 0.3%, at ₹152,068 per 10 grams in afternoon trade, with turnover of 1,337 lots. In Ahmedabad retail quotes, 24-carat gold stood at ₹15,218 per gram, down ₹22, while 22-carat gold was at ₹13,950 per gram.
Still, the fall comes after a sharp weekly rise. Sandesh, citing GoodReturns, reported on May 10 that 24-carat gold had risen by as much as ₹1,640 over the week, while 22-carat gold was up ₹1,500; silver was ₹10,000 higher on the week at ₹275,000 per kg in morning retail rates.
The metals split was not limited to gold. Copper rose to $6.31 per lb on May 11, up 0.99% on the day and 5.60% over the month, while Brent and WTI crude also traded higher; copper is watched as a gauge of industrial demand because it is widely used in construction, power and electronics.
The risk for buyers is two-sided. If oil stays high and U.S. rate cuts are pushed further out, gold can remain under pressure because it pays no interest; BofA Global Research and Goldman Sachs both delayed their Federal Reserve rate-cut calls, citing energy-driven inflation and a firm labour market, and BofA analysts wrote that “data flow precludes cuts for now.” Reuters
