Precious metals ease in opening session

Mumbai, Oct 24 (UNI) Spot gold and silver eased today in the opening session as silver edged down by Rs 15 per kg from its previous close of Rs 18,270 and gold by Rs 15 per ten gm from its previous close of Rs 9,750 due to lack of fresh demand, traders at the Bombay Bullion Association said.

Traders received reports from Tokyo market that gold held steady on Wednesday after rising in New York on bargain hunting following this week's sharp drop.

Spot gold was at USD 758.50/759.30 an ounce, hardly changed from USD 759.20/760.00 late in New Yorkon Tuesday, when it gained more than USD 6.

Resistance was pegged at last week's 28-year high of USD 770, while support was seen at USD 750.

Continuing geopolitical tension in the Middle-East also helped draw money into bullion, but analysts said prices would need to consolidate before fresh gains were targeted.

The benchmark August 2008 gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose 5 Yen per gram to 2,827 Yen per gram.

The most-active December gold contract on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange edged down 2 cents ounce at USD 762.9 an ounce on electronic trade.

Following are the opening rates of spot silver and gold: Silver (per kg).999 fineness grade: Rs 18,255, Gold (per 10 gm): Gold 99.5 purity standard mint : Rs 9,735, Gold 99.9 purity pure Gold Rs 9,785.

UNI