Mumbai: Gold prices strengthened further at the domestic bullion market today on sustained demand from jewellery stockists amid strong retail off-take on the face of a traditionally buying season ahead.
Silver, on the other hand, dropped sharply due to speculative selling after its recent relentless upmove. Standard gold (99.5 purity) rose by Rs 70 to conclude at Rs 26,960 per 10 grams as compared to Friday's closing level of Rs 26,890.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) also moved up by a similar margin to end at Rs 27,110 per 10 grams from Rs 27,040. Silver (.999 fineness), however slumped by Rs 175 to finish at Rs 38,610 per kg as against Rs 38,785 yesterday.
Globally, the shiny metal remained under intense selling pressure after scaling seven-week high on investors caution as well stronger dollar value following robust macro data.
Gold February delivery shed USD 3 to settle at USD 1,222.50 an ounce on the Comex division of NYMEX late yesterday, while silver March contract ended lower at USD 17.06 an ounce.
