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Below is Gold Article by Mr. Prathamesh Mallya, AVP- Research, Non-Agri Commodities, and Currencies, Angel One Ltd

Gold settles slightly lower; Crude continues its downward trajectory.

GOLD

After rising by about 2 percent the week earlier, gold prices fell during the recently concluded week with a 0.5 percent drop.

The week started off well for gold, but the competing safe-haven dollar masked gold's the exposure to persistent economic worries.

The US consumer price index fell to less than 5% in April for the first time in two years, possibly providing justification for the US central bank to delay raising interest rates next month and lowering the risk for the yellow metal.

Markets have already factored in a 95% likelihood that the Fed would maintain current interest rates in June.

Outlook: Uncertainties surrounding the US banking crisis and US Fed’s likely rate hike pause would see gold prices inch higher.

CRUDE OIL

Crude prices continue to plummet, with the benchmark index, NYMEX, down 4.3 percent.

However, despite the labor market's strength, which would push the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer, the start of the week looked optimistic.

The expected strength comes after Alberta declared a state of emergency over the weekend in response to wildfires that evacuated almost 30,000 people and caused energy producers to shut down at least 185,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or around 2% of total production.

Crude prices were back under pressure after the American Petroleum Institute reported on Tuesday that commercial crude oil stocks in the United States unexpectedly increased last week, pushing down oil prices.

Rising global interest rates have put downward pressure on oil prices in recent months, as recession fears remain.

Outlook: Crude prices are likely to remain under pressure, as uncertainties in US and the demand situation in China, have capped the upside.

BASE METALS

The base metals pack finished the holiday-shortened week on a weaker note. The LME Nickel was the week's biggest losing metal.

Poor demand predictions in China, along with rising supply, kept metals prices under pressure. According to figures released on Tuesday, China's imports declined significantly in April, while export growth halted, raising fears about weak domestic demand.

Due to a delayed economic recovery and a weak export market, China's consumption of industrial metals has remained subdued during the second quarter, which is often regarded as peak demand time.

Furthermore, a strong dollar was another headwind that weighed on metal prices.

Outlook: We expect copper to trade higher towards 736 levels, a break of which could prompt the price to move higher to 741 levels

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