Gold and silver prices kicked off the week on a strong note, with both precious metals rallying sharply during Monday's session. The US military operation in Venezuela over the weekend, which led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, stoked fresh geopolitical concerns, supporting the continued rally in safe-haven assets.
The February gold futures contract on MCX opened higher at ₹1,36,300 per 10 grams, compared to the previous close of ₹1,36,761, and scaled to the day’s high of ₹1,38,200, a ₹2,439 surge.
By 8:10 PM IST, MCX gold was trading ₹2,037, or 1.50%, higher at ₹1,37,798 per 10 grams. The spot gold price also rose 2.3% to $4,425 per ounce.
Silver prices also resumed higher following a muted close during Friday's session. The March silver futures contract on MCX soared by ₹13,584 per kilogramme, reaching the day’s high of ₹2,49,900 from the previous close of ₹2,35,873.
Other precious metals, such as platinum and palladium, were also trading higher, rallying 5.3% and 5%, respectively.
US-Venezuela tensions boost safe-haven demand
Over the weekend, the US conducted a military operation in Venezuela, capturing leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, who were taken to New York and charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy and other crimes.
Though Venezuela remains economically weak, grappling with hyperinflation despite possessing some of the world’s largest crude oil reserves, the attacks have stoked fresh geopolitical tensions globally, sustaining demand for safe-haven assets.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday said Washington would “run” Venezuela until a political transition takes place, hours after US forces bombed the South American country.
He also stated that US oil companies will spend billions fixing Venezuela's "broken" oil infrastructure, "taking a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground," during a press conference on Saturday.
Trump further warned that the United States could launch a second military strike on Venezuela if remaining members of the administration fail to cooperate with efforts to get the country “fixed”, Reuters reported.
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