33,500, say experts

on September 26 increased the rates by 25 bps to 2.25 per cent. This was the eighth hike since 2015 when it was at 0.25 per cent since the 2008 crisis.

If the interest rate rises from current levels, it will increase borrowing costs and will be negative for gold, because then the bond market will be more attractive than gold, which has hardly given any returns in the last five years, he said.

He said the spike in domestic price was due to the increase in the international prices only, coupled with the steep fall in the rupee.

“The rupee, which depreciated against the US dollar by more than 15 per cent in the first 10 months of this year, is finding support over falling crude prices; this is another reason for the steep fall in domestic prices,” he added.

Further, he said, higher gold prices kept buyers away during the festival season and demand from rural markets did not pick up as farmers are yet to receive the minimum support prices for their crops.

Over 60 per cent of the domestic gold demand comes from the rural markets.

Analysing these fundamentals, he said, international gold prices are likely to remain in a broader range of $ 1,180 to $ 1,240 by December end, while domestic price may hover around ` 30,200 to ` 31,800, provided the rupee does not fall below 73- 74 till March. Angel Broking analyst Prathamesh Mallya sees gold demand remaining poor going forward. gold