Gold Slides Rs 1,650, Silver Plunges Rs 2,900

New Delhi: Gold and silver prices slumped in the national capital on Thursday, with the precious metal declining Rs1,650 and slipping below the Rs80,000-mark, according to the All India Sarafa Association. Tepid demand by local jewellers amid weak trend overseas as the primary reason behind the fall in prices, traders said. The precious metal slipped Rs1,650 to Rs79,500 per 10 grams against the previous close of Rs81,150 per 10 grams on Wednesday. Silver, too followed suit, plunging Rs2,900 to Rs93,800 per kg on reduced offtake by industrial units and coin makers. It had traded flat at Rs96,700 per kg on Wednesday.

Prices of gold of 99.5 per cent purity also slipped Rs1,650 to Rs79,100 per 10 grams. In the previous session, it had settled at Rs80,750 per 10 grams. Sentiment weakened on the back of subdued global trend, and the fall in demand in local jewellers put pressure on prices of gold, traders said. Comex gold futures fell $1.90 per ounce, or 0.07 per cent, at $2,674.40 per ounce in the Asian market hours. In the global markets, silver fell 0.24 per cent at $31.26 per ounce. Meanwhile, in futures trade on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold contracts for December delivery is traded flat at Rs76,655 per 10 grams. However, silver contracts for December delivery fell Rs9, or 0.01 per cent, to trade at Rs90,811 per kg.