It would not be an exaggeration to say that Indians are emotional about the yellow metal gold. They are unapologetically the worlds leading consumers of gold. Also, gold is a significant contributor to countrys total imports.The precious metal is considered as a safe haven for investors and traders. It is said that whether the overall gold market is bullish or bearish, the commodity offers high liquidity and better opportunities to make profit in almost all environments.What factors influence gold pricesGold is undoubtedly one of those commodities that have seen humongous growth in terms of prices. Primarily, there are three things that influence the gold prices the most – inflation, investors sentiment and demand and supply. To put it in a simple way, if the rate of inflation is high, more investors are likely to invest in gold since it has traditionally been known for beating the inflation. Now this, in tur, will lead to a spike in the gold prices. In the same manner, if the investors sentiment towards gold is positive, the gold rates would witness a hike and vice versa. And lastly, as the demand and supply goes up, gold prices will go up too while if the supply is more than the demand, gold rates are likely to fall.Besides, the prices of gold in India also depend upon various factors like stability of the Central Bank, quantitative easing, government reserves, the overall health of the jewellery industry to name a few. Also, there have been incidents when political movements and policies have affected the domestic prices of gold.The ever-rising gold rates in IndiaIn the past ten years, the gold rate trend has seen a spurt like never before. If we talk about the year 2013, the average price of gold was Rs 29,600 per 10 grams. Right after ten years, in 2023, the average rate of gold so far stands at Rs 62,035 per 10 grams. The prices have increase by Rs 32,435 per 10 grams or by 109.6% in past one decade.Gold prices in India in 2023Gold prices in India in 2023 so far, have been fluctuating a lot. The prices have surged considerably and have gained by around Rs 3,000 or 6.5% in the last six months. According to experts, various events like Russia-Ukraine war, rise in the US Federal rate and global inflation have played a crucial role in hiking the prices. Also, the ask of the yellow metal has prompted the overall equities market decline since the start of the year.The uptrend momentum in gold has been witnessed since the onset of Covid-19 pandemic. Since gold is considered as a safe haven for investors, the demand for the metal skyrocketed during the year, thereby taking the prices alongwith. However, the equities market that were making losses during the pandemic, resurrected a bit towards the end of the year when the prices of gold fell marginally.Meanwhile, in India, gold prices are quoted at Rs 62,070 per ten grams as of April 29, 2023 (11:30 AM IST).
