Silver and Gold slump on falling demand amid uneasy sentiment

Mumbai-India (Nov 23)  Against the sluggish global backdrop amid subdued stockists' as well as investment offtake, gold continued its descent for the seventh-straight session at the domestic bullion market today.

Silver also drifted to nearly three-and-a half month low and closed below the psychological Rs. 46,000 per kilo mark on sustained offloading by speculators coupled with poor industrial buying.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) dropped by Rs. 145 to conclude at Rs. 30,665 per 10 grams from overnight close of Rs. 30,810. Pure gold (99.9 purity) also lost a similar margin to settle at Rs. 30,815 per 10 grams from Rs. 30,960. Silver ready (.999 fineness) plunged Rs. 340 to finish at Rs. 45,940 per kilo as compared to Friday's closing level of Rs. 46,280.

Globally, the yellow-metal moved marginally higher on weak dollar, but gains were capped on uncertainty over the US Fed tapering and strong economic data.

Gold December delivery settled better at $1,244.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the NYMEX late yesterday, while silver December contract eased to $19.86 an ounce.