Gold gains on retail purchases, silver slip

Gold prices firmed up further at the bullion market here today on increased buying by retailers and jewellery makers amidst firm Asian support.


Silver, however, declined due to lower industrial off-take.

Standard gold (99.5 per cent purity) rose by Rs 30 per 10 grams, to close at Rs 20,400, from last weekend''s closing level of Rs 20,370.

Pure gold (99.9 per cent purity) also went up by a similar margin to finish at Rs 20,500 per 10 grams, as against Rs 20,470 previously.

However, silver ready (.999 fineness) fell by Rs 35 per kilo, to conclude at Rs 45,340, from Rs 45,375 last Saturday.

In Singapore, spot gold dropped to a one-week low of USD 1,371.10 on China''s interest rate hike, but soon rebounded on speculative buying to USD 1,384.80 an ounce in early trade.

Spot silver was up at USD 29.24 an ounce.

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