Gold and silver prices took a breather on Friday after hitting lifetime highs in the previous session as investors looked to book profits in bullion ahead of the US jobs data later today.

On MCX prices fell taking cues from trends in the international market. Moreover, an uptick in the dollar index (DXY) also acted as a drag.

Around 9:20 am the June Gold futures were trading at Rs 69,359 down by Rs 348 or 0.5%. May silver futures were trading at Rs 78,976 around this time, down by Rs 1008 or 1.26%.

The June Gold futures on MCX hit a life high of Rs 69,918 per 10 gram on Thursday also while May silver futures scripted a life high of Rs 80,098 per kg.

The dollar index (DXY) was hovering near the 104.33 mark, up by 0.21 or 0.20%. It has declined by 0.33% over the last five trading sessions.

On Comex, the gold futures have scripted a lifetime high of $2,308 per troy ounce.Gold has been trading with positivity amid geopolitical tension in the Middle East but the recent uptick in prices has been on account of growing hopes of rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, Anuj Gupta, Head Commodity & Currency, HDFC Securities said.Next target for comex gold is $2,320-$2,400 while for MCX gold it is Rs 70,635-71,750/73,555, Gupta said.

As for comex silver, the HDFC Securities analyst estimates next targets at $26.94-$28.45/$30.09 and Rs 79,570-84000/87,105 for MCX silver.

The prices have risen by 3% or Rs 2030 on MCX in April so far, Anuj Gupta, Head Commodity & Currency, HDFC Securities said.

On the year-to-date basis, the uptick is Rs 6,504 or 10.29%. As for the silver contract, previous month’s gains stand at 6.58% or Rs 4,936 while the YTD gains at 7.46% or Rs 5554, Gupta added.

“Gold retreated after hitting a fresh record as investors weighed remarks from policymakers ahead of a key jobs report due Friday. Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari said Thursday that interest-rate cuts may not be needed this year if progress on inflation stalls, especially if the economy remains robust. Meanwhile, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester separately suggested the central bank could be getting close to the level of confidence it needs to begin lowering rates within months,” Neha Qureshi, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at Anand Rathi Commodities & Currencies said.

Despite the dip, the price was still close to the record $2,305.64 reached earlier in the session, Qureshi said.

Price of gold in major physical bullion markets like Delhi, Ahmedabad and other cities is Rs 69,800 per 10 gram while those of 1 kg of Silver is Rs 80,000, Gupta said.

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Intraday trading strategy by Neha Qureshi

– Sell MCX JUNE Gold futures at Rs 69450 with a stop loss of Rs 69900 and a price target of Rs 68500.

– Sell MCX MAY Silver futures at Rs 79600 with a stop loss of Rs 80400 and a price target of Rs 78400.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)