Mumbai: Gold futures edged higher on Tuesday afternoon, following the overseas trend, with investors eyeing the rupee for direction in the precious metals complex, analysts said.
Traders said physical buying edged up as overseas prices stayed near the keenly-watched $1,500 an ounce. Premiums charged on London prices were steady in the range of $1.0-1.4.
At 1:11pm, the most-active gold for August delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was trading 0.29 percent higher at Rs 22,143 per 10 grams.
“There is seasonal impact on demand... More liquidation is on the cards in gold,” said a dealer with a private-run bullion importing bank.
Farmers, the traditional buyers, usually divert their savings on farm equipment and pesticides for summer-sown crops from gold and silver in monsoon period.
Overseas gold rose to session highs, set to break three straight days of declines, after the euro extended gains against the dollar and European equities rose ahead of a parliamentary vote on Greek austerity measures and other commodities, including crude oil pared earlier losses.
The rupee plays an important role in determining the landed cost of the yellow metal, which is quoted in dollars.
