Gold rate today, March 3 -- The domestic gold futures kicked off the evening trade on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) on a tepid note, tracking the weakness in the international markets as the US dollar strength outweighed the geopolitical risks stemming from US-Israeli military action against Iran.

MCX gold futures for April expiry opened with a 3% cut at Rs.161,092 per 10 grams as against its last close of Rs.166,074. MCX was closed for trading in the morning session on account of a public holiday to mark the festival of Holi.

At the same time, silver prices on MCX traded with a steeper decline of 6% as it traded at Rs.261,773 per kilogram.

The weakness in the domestic futures market mirrored the global market trend, wherein US sp...