MUMBAI, Sept. 23 -- At Zaveri Bazaar on Monday morning, the India Bullion and Jewellers Association issued its first benchmark of the week, and the number reflected seven days of quiet accumulation. At Rs.15,813 per gram, 24-karat gold was Rs.230 higher than it had been the previous Monday - a gain that arrived not with a single decisive session but with the steady pressure of forces playing out in Washington, Beijing, and the futures pits of New York.

When the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points on September 16, driving borrowing costs to their highest in three years at 3.75 to 4.00 percent, the conventional logic called for a gold selloff. Higher rates lift the dollar and raise the cost of holding non-yielding ...