Silver rises to Rs 55,100 on global cues, gold remains weak

A divergent trend developed in the bullion market today as silver recovered by Rs400 to Rs55,100 per kg on fresh buying by stockists amid a firming global trend, while gold fell further by Rs25 to Rs22,655 per 10 gram on sluggish demand at existing high levels.

Silver coins followed suit and shot up by Rs1,000 to Rs61,000 for buying and Rs62,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

Buying activity in silver gathered momentum as the metal prices rose in global markets amid fresh buying by stockists and jewellers for the marriage season, traders said.

On the other hand, sluggish local demand and weak trend in overseas market led to the decline in the yellow metal's prices, they added.

Gold in global markets, which normally sets a price trend on the domestic front, declined by $1.50 to $1536.10 an ounce, while silver gained 0.35% to $36.93 an ounce.

On the domestic front, silver ready recovered by Rs400 to Rs55,100 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs320 to Rs54,970 per kg.

On the other hand, the gold of 99.9% and 99.5% purity remained weak for the second straight day and shed another Rs 25 each to Rs 22,655 and Rs 22,535 per 10 grams, respectively.

The yellow metal had lost Rs 130 in yesterday's trade. However, sovereigns continued to be asked around previous level of Rs 18,700 per piece of eight grams.