Silver drops on profit selling, gold steady

Mumbai, Jan 13 (PTI) Silver prices dropped at the bullionmarket here today on hectic profit taking by speculatorsdespite firming trend in the international market.

Meanwhile, gold witnessed a lacklustre performance due tothin trade and ended stable.

"Silver is getting high end speculation due to itsbullishness and traders are taking profits at higher levels,"traders commented.

Silver ready (.999 fineness) fell sharply by Rs 380 perkg to conclude at Rs 45,635 from Wednesday''s closing level ofRs 46,015.

However, standard gold (99.5 per cent purity) and puregold (99.9 per cent purity) closed unchanged at Rs 20,345 andRs 20,445 per 10 grams respectively.

In New York, gold finished modestly on lower level buyingamid dollar weakness.

Gold for February delivery gained USD 1.50 to USD1,385.80 an ounce on the Comex division of NYMEX. Silver forMarch delivery up by 5 cents to close at USD 29.55 an ounce.