Gold rate today in India: After delivering a stellar return in 2025, the precious yellow metal continued its bull run in January 2026 and topped out after reaching its peak of ₹₹1,80,779 per 10 gm on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX). On Friday last week, the MCX gold rate finished at ₹₹1,56,200 per 10 gm, around ₹24,500, or 13.50%, below its previous peak. In the international market, the COMEX gold rate finished at $5,046.30/oz, around 10.50% below the record high of $5,626.80/oz.
According to market experts, the fuel for the gold price rally is over amid reports that Russia is returning to trade in US Dollars (USD) with the US. They said that a Russian international document cited by the news agency Bloomberg indicates that the Kremlin is exploring an economic partnership with the US. The most interesting part of this development is Moscow’s return to US Dollar-based trade settlement — a move that would be a big blow to the DE-dollarisation efforts of the BRICS nations, which include Russia. Experts said that BRICS members are accumulating gold to replace the US Dollar in their trade settlements, but Russia’s return to the US Dollar will have a negative impact on de-dollarisation and gold price rally.
Experts said Russia has yet to respond to these news reports, and no rebuttal from Moscow of such a major claim by Bloomberg is expected to cast doubt on the minds of gold buyers. They said that a weakening US Dollar after the rise in US inflation is expected to put an end to the buzz about US Fed rate cuts, which is also negative for gold rates today.
Is Russia back to the US Dollar?
Pointing towards a structural shift in the geopolitical alignment, Amit Goel, Chief Global Strategist at PACE 360, said, “On the weekend, Bloomberg has reported that Russia is coming back to the US Dollar. The news agency has claimed that the Kremlin is exploring the possibility of a trade partnership with the US, with trade settlements in US Dollars, because Trump will not accept any other form of settlement. The news report says that the Putin administration is weighing on such a trade partnership in the wake of an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which signals a possible Russia-Ukraine peace deal is around.”
The PACE 360 expert said that Russia has yet to comment on such reports, but a lack of rebuttal from Moscow on such a sensitive matter signals a structural shift in the demand-supply game for the precious yellow metal. Such development is expected to hit the de-dollarisation drive of the BRICS nations, which had been aggressively buying gold, thereby squeezing the supply of the yellow metal.
Major fuel for skyrocketing gold prices
Highlighting the importance of central banks’ gold buying in the gold price rally, Anuj Gupta, a SEBI-registered market expert, said, “Ever since Donald Trump entered the White House last year, the central banks across the world started buying gold to counter Trump’s tariffs. This created a significant demand-supply imbalance, leading to higher prices. The central banks, especially of the BRICS members, continued buying gold aggressively, which further acted as fuel for the gold price rally. across the world.”
Anuj Gupta maintained that a pause in global central banks’ gold buying will have a significant negative impact on the gold price rally, and we may witness a sharp correction in gold prices. He said that the chances are also high that these central banks may start selling gold in the open market, further weakening demand due to the precious metal’s oversupply.
BRICS members’ dollar reserves
BRICS — a significant economic bloc of emerging nations comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — is fast shifting its reliance on the US Dollar to gold through the accumulation of the precious metal. Although the BRICS nations officially hold around 20% of global gold reserves, they, along with their strategically allied states (who are not BRICS members but have strong ties with BRICS member countries), now collectively account for around 50% of global gold production.
Russia and China led from the front in this strategy. In 2024, China produced 380 tonnes of gold, while Russia contributed 340 tonnes. Following this strategy, in September 2025, Brazil purchased 16 tonnes of gold, marking its first gold purchase since 2021.
Explaining the dual strategy of BRICS member countries that led to skyrocketing gold prices, Anuj Gupta said that they are currently producing more gold and selling less. At the same time, they are also purchasing gold from the international market. According to existing data, between 2020 and 2024, the Central Banks of the respective BRICS nations purchased more than 50% of the global gold.
Today, BRICS economies account for nearly 30% of global trade, giving their collective monetary choices global relevance. A long-standing objective of de-dollarisation of the bloc will be jeopardized after Russia’s return to the Dollar.
Will gold prices crash?
Expecting a structural shift in the demand-supply dynamics of gold prices, Amit Goel of PACE 360 said that gold prices have already peaked out at $5,626.80/oz in the international market and at ₹₹1,80,779 per 10 gm in India. We are witnessing a dead-cat bounce in yellow metal after every attempt by gold to erase its losses. Such a structural shift in the de-dollarisation process is expected to trigger panic selling by global central banks, potentially diluting the demand-supply imbalance in favor of the precious yellow metal.
“Though the first trigger would come in the paper gold selling, it will ultimately hit the physical gold prices. Gold rates in India are already down by around 15%, and this decline is expected to deepen after this development. We may see gold rates in India coming below. ₹1 lakh per 10 gm, and the COMEX gold prices may touch $3,000 per ounce by the end of 2027,” said Amit Goel.
The Chief Global Strategist at PACE 360 said that such a deep fall won’t happen in one shot. This will happen with lots of dead-cat bounces, where gains during the bull run will be lower than the losses incurred during the bear bite.
According to a 2026 internal Kremlin memo, reviewed by Bloomberg and reported by the Economic Times and The Times of India, Russia is actively considering a return to the US dollar settlement system as part of a potential economic partnership with President Donald Trump. The report says that Vladimir Putin’s administration weighs on seven areas of economic alignment between the United States and Russia, centered on fossil fuels, natural gas, offshore oil, and critical raw materials.
Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
