MUMBAI: India's gold futures inched lower on Tuesday morning weighed down by a stronger rupee, with investors awaiting the US jobs report later in the week for direction, analysts said
The most-active April gold contract was 0.07 percent lower at 16,609 rupees per 10 grams at 10:59 am,after hitting an intra-day low of 16,562 rupees in early deals.
The partially convertible rupee was at 46.22/24 per dollar, stronger than its close of 46.37/38 on Monday.
Economists polled by Reuters are looking for a slim gain in US payrolls in January, though it is not expected to be
enough to put a dent in the 10 percent unemployment rate.
"There could be short-covering later, buying is recommended at 16,560, for a target of 16,700, maintaining a stop loss of 16,510," said said Aurobinda Prasad, head of research, Karvy Comtrade.
Open interest for April gold on MCX was at 13,605 lots, up from 13,499 a day earlier.
Gold may trade in the range of 16,450-16,800 rupees, said Tejas Seth, senior analyst with SMC Global.
