Gold, silver slump on sell-off, weak global cues

Mumbai, Feb 4: Gold continued its downward journey in the bullion market here on Saturday on sustained selling by stockists and investors amid bearish global sentiment. Silver also fell amid fresh selling by retail speculators.

Standard gold of 99.5 per cent purity plunged by Rs 435 to end at Rs 27,665 per 10 grams today, as against Friday's close of Rs 28,100. Pure gold of 99.9 per cent purity also fell by a similar margin to close at Rs 27,795 per 10 grams, compared to Rs 28,230 per 10 grams previously.

Silver ready (.999 fineness) dropped by Rs 455 per kg to conclude at Rs 55,505 per kg from an overnight close of Rs 55,960. In the overseas market, gold fell in New York trade after a four-session rally following better-than-expected US job data along with positive macroeconomic indicators, reducing investor demand for the yellow metal.

Gold for April delivery declined by USD 19 to settle at USD 1,740.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the NYMEX late yesterday. In a similar fashion, March contract silver lost 43 cents to finish at USD 33.75 an ounce.

PTI