Gold was on course to post its biggest quarterly gain since September 2020 as the safe haven metal's appeal was lifted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and concerns over sky-high inflation.

Share Market Live

NSE

However, by 0938 GMT, spot gold XAU slipped 0.5 percent to $1,93.40 per ounce and US gold futures GCv1 fell 0.6 percent to $1,927.80 as oil prices fell.

Oil plunged on news that the US was considering releasing a large quantity of its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to tackle high fuel prices.

Also read: View: West Asian churn and the Russia-Ukraine war

"This (lower oil prices) has somewhat allayed the inflation concerns of market participants, meaning that gold as a store of value appears to be in less demand initially today," Commerzbank said in a note.

Bullion has gained about 5.2 percent this quarter as Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February drove gold to a near record high earlier this month.

Along with the Ukraine crisis, worries over high inflation and whether efforts by major central banks are enough to rein it in are weighing on the economy and helping gold do well, said Brian Lan, Managing Director at dealer GoldSilver Central.

Also read: G7 restricting Russian central bank's use of gold

Meanwhile, European stocks were set for the biggest quarterly drop since the start of 2020.

Non-yielding bullion is considered a safe store of value during uncertain times and a hedge against inflation.

Gold also remains en route to post a monthly rise, despite falling earlier in the month ahead of the US Federal Reserve's decision to hike borrowing costs for the first time in three years to tame inflation.

Silver XAG dipped 0.6 percent to $24.69 per ounce. Platinum XPT slipped 0.7 percent to $983.27. Still, they were set to record quarterly gains.

Auto-catalyst metal palladium XPD slipped 1.3 percent to $2,235.77, but is set for its sharpest quarterly jump since September 2020, having hit record highs earlier this month after the West heaped sanctions on top producer Russia.

First Published:Mar 31, 2022 6:07 PM IST