Gold and Silver Rate Today in Your City: 18K to 24K Gold Prices See a Mild Morning Decline as Hormuz Talks Cool the Safe-Haven Bid
Gold and Silver Rate Today in Your City: 18K to 24K Gold Prices See a Mild Morning Decline as Hormuz Talks Cool the Safe-Haven Bid
24-carat gold slipped to ₹1,43,990 per 10 grams, 22-carat to ₹1,31,990 and 18-carat to ₹1,07,990, while silver held near ₹2,34,900 a kilogram. Below: city-wise rates, the demand data behind the trend, the maths on your final bill, and the levels that decide the next move.
Bullion & Commodities Desk | Updated Wednesday, 5 August 2026, 12:30 PM IST | Cross-checked against MCX, IBJA, World Gold Council and city association quotes | 14 min read
Everything in seven lines
- 24K gold is at ₹1,43,990 per 10 g, down ₹220 (0.15 per cent) from Tuesday’s close. 22K is at ₹1,31,990 and 18K at ₹1,07,990.
- Silver is nearly flat at ₹2,34,900 per kg, down ₹100, holding far better than gold because half its demand is industrial.
- The trigger is diplomatic, not economic: progress on reopening the Strait of Hormuz has unwound part of the war-risk premium.
- Spot gold is still above $4,080 an ounce and up 41.9 per cent year on year in rupee terms. This is profit-taking inside an uptrend.
- India bought 6 per cent less gold by weight in the June quarter but spent 50 per cent more on it, a record ₹1.98 lakh crore.
- A 10 g, 22K plain chain at 12 per cent making charge comes to roughly ₹1,52,264 after GST. Only 86.7 per cent of that is metal.
- Watch ₹1,43,500 as support and ₹1,44,500 as resistance. Buyers with a fixed wedding date should stagger purchases rather than wait for a crash.
Today’s rate snapshot
12:30 PM ISTIndicative bullion rates excluding GST, making charges and TCS. Retail counter rates vary by showroom.
The six numbers setting today’s price
Equities up and gold down on the same morning is the classic risk-on signature. Money is rotating out of hedges, not out of the market.
How the morning session unfolded
Vertical axis truncated for readability. Full range shown is ₹35 per gram, or 0.24 per cent.
The word that describes this morning honestly is mild. Gold has given up roughly one-seventh of one per cent, which on a 10 gram purchase is the price of a decent restaurant meal. Anyone who reads the headline “gold falls” and pictures a collapse will be disappointed when they walk into a showroom. What has actually happened is that a small slice of geopolitical fear priced into bullion last week has been released, and the market is testing whether the buyers who chased prices above ₹1.44 lakh are still willing to defend that level.
The shape of the move matters more than its size. Gold opened at ₹14,421 per gram for 999 fine, leaked value steadily through the first two hours, bottomed at ₹14,396 around 11:30 AM, then ticked back up to ₹14,399 as physical buying at the counter absorbed the selling. A price that falls hard and keeps falling into the afternoon signals institutional liquidation. A price that drifts down, finds a floor and recovers three rupees is telling you the selling was thin and that domestic demand is sitting patiently just below the market. Volumes on the October MCX contract were below the ten-day average, and low volume on a down day is one of the oldest tells in commodity markets: the move lacks conviction.
24K, per 10 g
Up ₹1,880 over seven sessions. Today retraces about a tenth of that.
Change since Aug 2025
Silver has doubled in a year yet still sits below its January high.
Why gold prices slipped this morning
The Hormuz de-escalation trade
The dominant driver is diplomatic. Negotiations aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz have progressed enough that traders are pricing in a lower probability of prolonged disruption. Gold had absorbed a meaningful risk premium during the escalation phase, and premiums built on fear are the first thing to unwind when the news flow softens. Crude retreating towards the high-$70s per barrel is the confirming signal: cheaper energy reduces the inflation impulse, and a lower expected inflation path is structurally negative for gold.
Rate expectations have flipped hawkish
Markets now assign roughly a 57 per cent implied probability to a Federal Reserve rate hike in September, with the ADP private payrolls print due to sharpen that view. This is the most under-appreciated factor for Indian retail buyers. Gold pays no interest. Every increase in the expected real yield on dollar deposits raises the opportunity cost of holding a metal that generates nothing. A market leaning towards a hike rather than a cut will keep a lid on gold rallies.
The counterweight: central banks and Asian ETF flows
Pushing the other way is persistent structural demand. Central banks added a net 289 tonnes to reserves in the June quarter, up 62 per cent year on year, and gold-backed ETFs in China continued recording inflows this week with institutional money defending the $4,000 an ounce level. This is precisely why the decline stopped at 0.15 per cent instead of running to a full per cent. There is a large, price-insensitive buyer underneath this market, and it does not sell on diplomatic headlines.
24K, 22K and 18K: what you are actually comparing
The balance in each alloy is copper, silver, zinc or nickel, which supplies hardness and colour.
24K is investment metal, too soft to hold a setting, which is why it appears in coins, bars and thin sheet rather than a ring you wear daily. If your objective is to own gold as an asset, this is the only grade that makes sense, because you pay for gold and nothing else. 22K is the Indian jewellery standard, stamped 916: enough alloy to survive daily wear, enough purity that resale value stays high. 18K is where fine jewellery and diamond settings live. At 75 per cent gold it is meaningfully harder, which is what lets a jeweller cut a secure prong that holds a stone for decades, and it is the grade where rose gold and white gold behave properly.
Gold and silver rate today in your city
| City | 24K / 10 g | 22K / 10 g | 18K / 10 g | Silver / kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mumbai | ₹1,43,990 | ₹1,31,990 | ₹1,07,990 | ₹2,34,900 |
| Delhi | ₹1,44,140 | ₹1,32,130 | ₹1,08,110 | ₹2,35,900 |
| Chennai | ₹1,43,990 | ₹1,31,990 | ₹1,10,140 | ₹2,42,900 |
| Kolkata | ₹1,43,990 | ₹1,31,990 | ₹1,07,990 | ₹2,34,900 |
| Bengaluru | ₹1,44,000 | ₹1,32,000 | ₹1,08,000 | ₹2,35,000 |
| Hyderabad | ₹1,43,990 | ₹1,31,990 | ₹1,07,990 | ₹2,34,900 |
| Pune | ₹1,43,990 | ₹1,31,990 | ₹1,07,990 | ₹2,34,900 |
| Ahmedabad | ₹1,44,040 | ₹1,32,040 | ₹1,08,030 | ₹2,35,000 |
| Jaipur | ₹1,44,140 | ₹1,32,130 | ₹1,08,110 | ₹2,35,900 |
| Lucknow | ₹1,44,140 | ₹1,32,130 | ₹1,08,110 | ₹2,35,900 |
| Kochi | ₹1,43,990 | ₹1,31,990 | ₹1,07,990 | ₹2,42,900 |
| Chandigarh | ₹1,44,140 | ₹1,32,130 | ₹1,08,110 | ₹2,35,900 |
Premium over the Mumbai benchmark, 24K per 10 g
Rates exclude GST and making charges. Local association quotes can move during the day.
Three patterns are worth understanding. The north Indian belt running from Delhi through Jaipur, Lucknow and Chandigarh consistently quotes ₹150 higher per 10 grams, reflecting transport and insurance costs from the western port entry points plus local association pricing convention, not a difference in metal quality. The southern markets show a wider spread on 18K and silver specifically, with Chennai and Kochi quoting silver at ₹2,42,900 against Mumbai’s ₹2,34,900, because Tamil Nadu and Kerala have deep established markets in lightweight 18K and silver articles.
Most usefully: 24K rates nationwide sit inside a band of about ₹150. If a jeweller’s quoted metal rate is more than roughly ₹500 per 10 grams away from these figures, that is not regional variation. That is margin being taken in the rate rather than declared in the making charge, and you should ask about it directly.
Silver is telling a different story
Twelve months of silver, in rupees per kilogram
The gold-to-silver ratio
One gram of gold buys 61.3 grams of silver today.
At 61.3 the ratio sits below its long-run average, meaning silver is trading rich against gold relative to its own history.
Silver at ₹2,34,900 a kilogram is a number that would have looked impossible eighteen months ago. The metal ran through a parabolic phase from late 2025, peaked near ₹2.63 lakh in mid-January, and has spent 2026 consolidating at a much higher plateau rather than giving the gains back. It is still up 103.5 per cent year on year, more than double gold’s 41.9 per cent.
The reason silver is holding better than gold today comes down to what drives it. Roughly half of silver demand is industrial, concentrated in photovoltaic cells, electrical contacts and electronics. That demand responds to manufacturing order books and solar installation schedules, not to negotiations over a shipping lane. When a geopolitical premium deflates, gold has more to give back because more of its recent gain was fear-driven in the first place. The ratio at 61.3 argues mildly for gold on relative value, though the counter-argument is real: structural industrial demand may have permanently reset where the ratio belongs.
What India actually bought last quarter
Investment now outweighs adornment in growth terms. In the March quarter, investment reached nearly 70 per cent of total Indian demand, the highest share in World Gold Council data going back to 2000.
The divergence that defines this market
Source: World Gold Council Gold Demand Trends, Q1 and Q2 2026. Loan figure is outstanding retail bank lending backed by pledged jewellery as of end-February 2026.
That divergence is the single most revealing chart in this article. Indian households bought 8.3 tonnes less gold than a year earlier, yet handed over half as much money again. High prices have not destroyed demand, they have reshaped it: buyers are shifting to lighter pieces, lower carats and outright investment products. The 124 per cent surge in loans against pledged jewellery says something else again, namely that households are choosing to monetise gold rather than sell it, which keeps scrap supply muted and quietly supports the price.
What you actually pay at the counter
Where every rupee goes on a 10 g, 22K plain chain
| Component | Basis | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold value | 10 g at ₹13,199/g | ₹1,31,990 | 86.7% |
| Making charges | 12 per cent of gold value | ₹15,839 | 10.4% |
| Subtotal | Before tax | ₹1,47,829 | 97.1% |
| GST | 3 per cent on subtotal | ₹4,435 | 2.9% |
| Total payable | All charges included | ₹1,52,264 | 100% |
Typical making charge ranges by jewellery type
Scale runs 0 to 30 per cent. Hallmarking is charged separately at ₹45 per article plus GST by most retailers.
Making charges are where your negotiating power lives, and where the range is enormous. Handcrafted temple jewellery and filigree genuinely justify 20 per cent and more, because the labour is real. What you should refuse is a flat 18 per cent on a plain, machine-made item. Ask for the charge as a rupee figure per gram rather than a percentage, because per-gram quoting makes comparison across two showrooms instantly possible in a way percentages do not.
Metal value by weight, at today’s prices
| Weight | 24K | 22K | 18K | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 gram | ₹14,399 | ₹13,199 | ₹10,799 | ₹235 |
| 5 grams | ₹71,995 | ₹65,995 | ₹53,995 | ₹1,175 |
| 8 grams | ₹1,15,192 | ₹1,05,592 | ₹86,392 | ₹1,879 |
| 10 grams | ₹1,43,990 | ₹1,31,990 | ₹1,07,990 | ₹2,349 |
| 11.66 g (1 tola) | ₹1,67,893 | ₹1,53,900 | ₹1,25,916 | ₹2,739 |
| 20 grams | ₹2,87,980 | ₹2,63,980 | ₹2,15,980 | ₹4,698 |
| 50 grams | ₹7,19,950 | ₹6,59,950 | ₹5,39,950 | ₹11,745 |
| 100 grams | ₹14,39,900 | ₹13,19,900 | ₹10,79,900 | ₹23,490 |
Metal value only. Add making charges and 3 per cent GST for jewellery.
Should you buy today? Four honest answers
The cheapest and most expensive ways to own gold
Indicative total cost of acquiring exposure, including irrecoverable charges. Scale runs 0 to 36 per cent. Verify current issuance status and charges for any product before investing.
How to verify you are getting a fair rate
- Ask for the rate board in writing. Every legitimate showroom displays or can print the day’s rate per gram by purity. A verbal-only figure is a warning sign in itself.
- Check the HUID, not just the hallmark. Each article carries a six-digit alphanumeric HUID. Enter it in the BIS Care app before you pay. It should return the purity and the registered jeweller, and both should match your bill.
- Watch the weighing. The scale should read zero before the piece goes on it. Ask whether stones, beads or thread are included in the gross weight, because you should pay gold rate on gold weight only.
- Get the buyback policy printed on the invoice. Verbal assurances about exchange terms have no standing later.
- Compare making charges per gram across two showrooms. Percentages hide the difference. Rupees per gram expose it immediately.
What could move prices from here
Three events over the next fortnight carry more weight than anything else on the calendar. The ADP and non-farm payrolls data will sharpen the September Fed picture, and a strong labour print would firm up the hike expectation and pressure gold further. Any breakdown in the Hormuz negotiations would restore the risk premium quickly and could add one to two per cent inside a single session. And the rupee’s path against the dollar will decide how much of any global move actually reaches Indian buyers.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the 22K rate not exactly 91.6 per cent of the 24K rate?
Jewellers price 22K at a working purity of 91.67 per cent and then round to a convenient figure, and refining and alloying carry a small real cost. A gap of ₹100 to ₹200 per 10 grams from the pure arithmetic is normal.
Is GST charged on making charges as well as the gold?
Yes. The 3 per cent GST applies to the combined value of the gold plus the making charges, not to the gold alone. This is why the making charge percentage affects your tax bill as well as your base cost.
Does today’s decline mean gold has peaked?
There is no evidence for that in the data. A 0.15 per cent fall on below-average volume, inside a week where gold is up 1.3 per cent and a year where it is up 41.9 per cent, is consolidation. Central bank buying rose 62 per cent year on year last quarter, and those flows would need to reverse before a peak call becomes reasonable.
Why is silver more expensive in Chennai and Kochi than in Mumbai?
Concentrated regional demand. Silver articles, temple items and traditional silverware have a far deeper retail market in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and local association pricing reflects that sustained demand along with distribution costs from the bullion entry points.
Is 18K gold a bad purchase?
Not at all, provided you buy it for the right reason. For diamond settings, rose gold, white gold and daily-wear designer pieces, 18K is the correct technical choice because the added hardness protects the stones and the structure. It is a poor choice only when the objective is investment, since a quarter of what you buy is base metal.
What is the cheapest way to own gold purely as an investment?
Gold ETFs and gold funds carry the lowest total cost of ownership, because you avoid making charges, storage costs and purity risk entirely and pay only a small annual expense ratio. Physical coins and bars from a hallmarked source come next. Jewellery is the most expensive route to gold exposure by a wide margin.
Why did Indians buy less gold but spend more?
Because price rose faster than volume fell. Demand dropped 6 per cent to 131.4 tonnes in the June quarter while spending rose about 50 per cent to a record ₹1.98 lakh crore. Households are shifting to lighter pieces, lower carats and investment products rather than abandoning gold.
Sourcing and methodology
Bullion & Commodities Desk
Our commodities team has tracked daily bullion pricing across Indian city markets since 2016, reconciling exchange data with association quotes and retail counter rates. Rate tables on this page are compiled each morning from MCX futures settlements, India Bullion and Jewellers Association benchmarks and verified city association quotes, then checked against live retail rates in at least four metros before publication. Demand figures are drawn from World Gold Council Gold Demand Trends reports for the March and June 2026 quarters.
Disclosure and accuracy note. Rates shown were accurate as of 12:30 PM IST on 5 August 2026 and are indicative. Bullion prices change continuously through the trading day and vary between retailers. Figures exclude GST, TCS, making charges and hallmarking fees unless a calculation explicitly states otherwise. Cost ranges for investment routes are indicative and vary by provider. This article is journalism, not investment advice. Precious metals carry price risk and can decline in value. Verify the current rate with your jeweller or exchange before transacting, and consult a SEBI-registered investment adviser before making allocation decisions. This publication holds no position in gold or silver and receives no compensation from any jeweller or bullion dealer, named or unnamed, in this report.
