Silver drops on profit-taking, gold steady

Mumbai, Jan 17 (PTI) Silver prices continued to declineat the bullion market here today due to consistent sellingfrom stockists and speculators as well as subdued industrialdemand amidst bearish overseas trend.

Meanwhile, gold witnessed a lacklustre performance in theabsence of necessary buying support and ended stable.

Silver ready (.999 fineness) plunged by Rs 220 per kg tofinish at Rs 44,480 from last Saturday''s closing level ofRs 44,700.

However, standard gold (99.5 per cent purity) and puregold (99.9 per cent purity) both closed unaltered at Rs 20,205and Rs 20,305 per 10 grams respectively.

In Europe, spot gold was bid at USD 1,359.50 an ounce inearly trade, while spot silver was last at USD 28.12 an ounce,as compared with USD 28.32 late in New York on Friday.