Gold falls on subdued offtake; silver recovers

Gold prices fell at the domestic bullion market today following subdued offtake from stockists and poor retail buying despite a recovery in overseas markets. However, silver rebounded on good speculative buying to regain the key Rs 37,000-mark.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) eased by Rs 25 to end at Rs 26,225 per 10 grams from last Saturday's closing level of Rs 26,250. Pure gold (99.9 purity) also declined by a similar margin to conclude at Rs 26,375 per 10 grams from Rs 26,400 earlier.

However, silver (.999 fineness) rose by Rs 105 to finish at Rs 37,085 per kg as against Rs 36,980 previously. Globally, gold firmed up in early trade as European equities fell, though prices struggled to reach the USD 1,200 per ounce level after a robust US non-farm payrolls report pushed the dollar to more than five-year high.

In London, spot gold rose 0.3 per cent to USD 1,195.10 an ounce in early trade, while silver was up by 0.4 per cent at USD 16.32 an ounce.