Gold Slumps Rs 1,150, Silver Declines Rs 300

New Delhi: Gold prices slumped for the second straight session by Rs1,150 to Rs78,350 per 10 grams in the national capital on Monday on frantic selling by stockists and retailers, the All India Sarafa Association said. The precious metal of 99.9 per cent purity closed at Rs79,500 per 10 grams on Friday. Silver also declined Rs300 to Rs92,500 per kg. The white metal finished at Rs92,800 per kg in the previous trading session. In the last two trading sessions, it had plummeted Rs4,500 per kg. The price of gold of 99.5 per cent purity slipped Rs1,150 to Rs77,950 per 10 grams on Monday.

Traders said the sentiment was downbeat largely with uncertainty over the implications of concerns about US President-elect Donald Trump’s economic policies that could act as a tailwind for the US dollar. Comex gold futures rose $2.70 per ounce, or 0.10 per cent, to $2,678.50 per ounce in the international markets. Silver in the Asian trading session traded 0.26 per cent at $31.11 per ounce. “Gold traded within a volatile range, continuing last week’s up-and-down swings as markets brace for a series of major economic events this week,” Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst - Commodity and Currency at LKP Securities, said.

In futures trade on the MCX, gold contracts for February delivery rose Rs143, or 0.19 per cent, to trade at Rs77,279 per 10 grams. During the day, the yellow metal hit an intra-day low of Rs76,904 per 10 grams and a high of Rs77,295 per 10 grams, respectively. Silver contracts for March delivery climbed Rs319, or 0.35 per cent, to Rs91,320 per kg on the commodities exchange.