Silver nosedives on heavy sell-off, gold dips from 19K level

Mumbai, Jan 25 (PTI) Gold prices succumbed to hecticsell-off and finally torpedoed down to close belowpsychologically important Rs 20,000 per 10 grams barrier atthe bullion market here today.

Silver also bulldozed under the massive selling pressureto reach Rs 42,000 level.

"The precious metals decline in overseas on improvementeconomy situation amidst dollar gains forcing heavy unwindingfrom opportunistic domestic investors and speculators,"traders said.

Standard gold (99.5 per cent purity) plunged by Rs 265per 10 grams to end at Rs 19,800 from Monday''s closing levelof Rs 20,065.

Pure gold (99.9 per cent purity) slumped by a similarmargin of Rs 265 per 10 grams to finish at Rs 19,900 ascompared to Rs 20,165 yesterday.

Silver ready (.999 fineness) tanked by a hefty Rs 1,275per kilo to conclude at Rs 42,170 from overnight closing levelof Rs 43,445.

On global side, gold fell to its 10 weeks low on profittaking as well as fading safe-haven demand.

Spot gold was traded at USD 1,327.38 an ounce in earlytrade. US gold futures for February delivery also indicateda fall of 1.3 per cent an ounce.

Spot silver was trading low at USD 26.78 an ounce. PTIPAK EDM