MUMBAI: India gold futures were steady on Thursday as pressure from weak crude was offset by a weak rupee, analysts said.
The most-traded October contract was 0.17 per cent lower at Rs 14,887 per 10 grams at 11:20 a.m.
Oil took a cue from falling equities and eased towards $71, paring gains of nearly 1 per cent in the previous session that came after US government data showed a surprise decline in distillate supplies.
Weak crude oil allays prospects of rising prices and dims gold's appeal as an inflation hedge.
The Indian rupee weakened in low volume trade on Thursday, weighed by losses in other regional currencies, but traders were awaiting the local sharemarket open for further direction.
A weak rupee makes the dollar-quoted asset expensive. "The upside would be capped at Rs 14,980," said Kunal Shah, assistant vice-president with Nirmal Bang Commodities.
Gold may trade in the range of Rs 14,850-14,950, said Pranav Mer, an analyst with India Infoline.
Open interest for October gold on MCX was at 14,284 lots, up from 14,250 a day earlier. Volume on Wednesday was 19.87 kg.
