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Gold prices hit yet another lifetime high in Friday's opening trade after softer US PPI inflation data lifted sentiments for bullion on the Street. The new peaks were scaled notwithstanding a firmer dollar index (DXY) which has shot up over 105, gaining over 1% in the last five trading sessions. Gold prices in India took cues from their international counterparts. The MCX June gold futures hit a fresh all-time high of Rs 72,678 per 10 grams. Around 9:45 am today, the June futures were trading at Rs 72,448, rising Rs 804 or 1.12% while the May silver contracts hit Rs 84,102 for the first time and traded at 83,925 gaining Rs 1,078 or 1.30% over the last closing.Click to know more Today, the DXY was hovering near the 105.35 mark, rising 0.07 or 0.07%. The June Gold futures on MCX ended at Rs 71,650 on Thursday, up by Rs 6 or 0.01%. Meanwhile, the May silver futures closed at Rs 82,880, gaining by Rs 33 or 0.04%.The prices have risen 5.86% or Rs 3967 on MCX in April so far, Anuj Gupta, Head Commodity & Currency, HDFC Securities said. On the year-to-date basis, the uptick is Rs 8,442 or 13.36%. As for the Silver contract, this month’s gains stand at 9.86% or Rs 7,799 while the YTD gains at 11.31% or Rs 84,000, Gupta added.The price of gold in major physical bullion markets like Delhi, Ahmedabad, and other cities is Rs 72,500 per 10 grams while that of 1 kg of Silver is Rs 83500, Gupta said.Click to know more Intraday trading strategy by Anuj Gupta1. Buy April gold futures at Rs 72,125 for a traget of Rs 72,700 and a stop loss of Rs 72,950. 2. Buy May silver contract at Rs 83,600 for a target of Rs 84,060 and a stop loss of Rs 83,200.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

The Chinese economy is forecast to grow 4.8 per cent in 2024, amid a recovery of household consumption, ongoing property market adjustment, and weak external demand, according to the latest report published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).The growth in the Asian economy is projected to moderate from a 5.2 per cent expansion last year. An uncertain external macroeconomic environment, together with trade tensions, may affect demand for Chinese exports.Growth will further moderate to 4.5 per cent next year, ADB asserted."An increase in household consumption should help drive economic growth this year, as the labor market and household income improve," said ADB Country Director for the PRC Safdar Parvez."Effective measures to resolve property sector problems and strengthen private investment and household consumption should be enhanced this year to support growth momentum."Investment is expected to be supported by strong public infrastructure spending, boosted by fiscal expansion, while high-tech and other manufacturing investments should continue to grow solidly on the back of policy support.However, subdued consumer and investor sentiment in the property sector is expected to persist.Inflation is forecast to rise to 1.1 per cent in 2024, as the economy continues to recover.With food prices--particularly for pork--bottoming out and energy prices increasing, overall price movements should steer away from deflation. Inflation should increase further to 1.5 per cent in 2025, assuming domestic demand continues to recover.Risks to the outlook include further deterioration in the property market, which could undermine financial stability.Recurrent financial market turbulence can also dampen consumer sentiment, ADB noted.External risks include increased trade tensions with the United States and European Union weakening Chinese exports; escalated geopolitical tensions that may disrupt supply chains; renewed energy challenges triggered by geopolitical conflict; and fragmentation of the global economy, the latest ADB report said.On the other hand, ADB has upgraded India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for the financial year 2024 from 6.7 per cent to 7 per cent and 7.2 per cent in the financial year 2025.The upward revision in the economic growth forecasts is driven by robust public and private investment and a strong services sector.

Cash-strapped Vodafone Idea's board on Friday approved a resolution for a public offering of its equity shares worth Rs 18,000 crore. A company filing said that the follow-on public offer (FPO) will open on April 18, Thursday and close on April 22, Monday. The anchor investor bid will open on April 16.On Thursday, the telecom operator passed a resolution for approving, adopting and filing of the red herring prospectus dated (the RHP) with the Gujarat Registrar of Companies (RoC) in connection with the further public offering of equity shares.The FPO is said to be priced at a “significant discount” to the Rs 14.87 a share that was set for the preferential issue to one of the promoters, The Economic Times had reported quoting a person familiar with the matter earlier in the week. Read hereBrokerage CLSA said last month it has observed keen interest from foreign institutional investors in the UK in Vi's equity-raise plan.“The debt funding of around Rs 25,000 crore will follow shortly after the FPO closes,” the person said.Vodafone Idea shares ended at Rs 12.93 on the BSE on Wednesday, up by 0.15% over the Tuesday closing price. Markets were shut on Thursday on account of Eid-Ul-Fitr (Ramzan Id).After hitting a low of Rs 6 in April last year, the stock has made steady gains to its 52-week high of Rs 18.40. Its one-year returns stand at 108%.The board of the loss-making telco has already approved a preferential share issue to raise Rs 2,075 crore from an Aditya Birla Group (ABG) entity, which set the stage for a wider funding programme critical to the revival of the cash-strapped telco.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)