The morning briefing from Chapman Gold: what moved the gold market and why it matters. Prices in the banner above are live.
Gold opens the week firmer near $4,176
Spot gold traded near $4,176 an ounce in Asian trading on Monday morning, up about 0.3 per cent on Friday's close of around $4,166. Analysts tied the lift to fading bets on a Federal Reserve rate rise this month and an easing in oil prices (FinanceFeeds).
Dovish words from the Fed chair help the tone
Indian market commentary credited part of Monday's gain to softer crude and dovish remarks from Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh (Goodreturns). Gold pays no interest, so any sign that US rates will not rise further tends to support it.
Indian prices climb ahead of Dussehra
Domestic prices rose in India on Monday as the festival season builds, with 22 carat gold quoted at Rs 13,570 a gram in Chennai and Mumbai (Goodreturns). In Chennai the price rose by Rs 280 per sovereign to Rs 1,08,560 (DT Next).
High prices push some Indian buying into cash channels
A pre-Diwali outlook from Ventura Securities flagged a 15 per cent customs duty reported in May 2026 and said cash sales are rising as some buyers turn to informal channels because of high prices and taxes. It names US rate expectations, Treasury yields, oil and the dollar as the swing factors before the festival (Ventura Securities).
Central banks still net buyers over the year
In the twelve months to July 2026, the 76 central banks reporting to the IMF added a net 290 tonnes of gold, led by Poland (125 tonnes), China (66 tonnes) and Kazakhstan (61 tonnes), while Russia and Turkey were the largest sellers (World Gold Council). October figures will not be published until next month.
Miners report third quarter output
West African Resources reported third quarter group production of 127,950 ounces from its Burkina Faso operations, with 360,857 ounces for the year to date. OceanaGold has guided to 520,000 to 590,000 ounces of production for 2026 (company announcements).
The Week in Gold
Gold ended last week with a small loss. It reached a high of $4,216.91 an ounce on Monday but met selling at the $4,200 level, then fell to a low of $4,073.35 on Wednesday after hotter than expected US inflation figures for September, before recovering on Friday as Treasury yields and the dollar eased (Kitco, CNBC, Yahoo Finance). The main driver was the inflation print and what it means for Federal Reserve policy. This week the market is watching whether the softer Fed tone holds, with oil, the dollar and Indian festival demand the other moving parts.
Sources: FinanceFeeds, Goodreturns, DT Next, Ventura Securities, World Gold Council, West African Resources, OceanaGold, Kitco, CNBC, Yahoo Finance. Compiled Monday 19 October 2026. Nothing here is investment advice; it is the news, read with a jeweller's eye. For what the market means in real terms, see The Gold Price, where the world is priced in gold.