Ahead of Akshay Tritiya festival, gold firms up to Rs 29,940

Snapping its three-day fall, gold firmed up by Rs 40 to Rs 29,940 per 10 grams at the domestic bullion market, on renewed local buying support amid a firming trend in overseas.

Silver, however succumbed to fresh bouts of selling from speculative traders.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) firmed up by Rs 40 to end at Rs 29,940 per 10 grams from Thursday's close of Rs 29,900.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) also edged up by a similar margin to settle at Rs 30,090 per 10 grams against Rs 30,050 earlier.

Silver (.999 fineness) fell by Rs 70 per kg to finish at Rs 41,470 as compared to Rs 41,485 on Thursday.

In worldwide trade, the shiny-metal rebounded smartly after a four-straight day slump on short-covering as well as bargain buying, but gains were muted ahead of a closely watched jobs report later in the day.

Spot was firmly higher at $1,280.55 an ounce in early European trade, while silver was marginally down at $17.320 an ounce.