Gold bounces back above Rs 26k mark on heavy buying

Snapping a four-session downtrend, gold witnessed a smart rebound from its 1-1/2 month low and recaptured the significant Rs 26,000 barriers at the bullion market here today.

Domestic sentiment turned highly buoyant following a reversal of the downtrend seen in global commodities after recent steep fall, triggering frantic bouts of buying spree from jewellery stockists and retailers as well as good festive seasonal support.

Elsewhere, silver also zoomed on the back of massive speculative buyout to reclaim the key Rs 36,000-mark.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) soared by Rs 450 to end at Rs 26,230 per 10 grams from Thursday's close of Rs 25,780.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) also spiked by a similar margin to finish at Rs 26,380 per 10 grams against Rs 25,930 earlier.

Silver (.999 fineness) galloped by Rs 1,145 to conclude at Rs 36,070 per kg from Rs 34,925.

On the global front, the yellow-metal staged a smart turnaround on safe-haven buying spree after a sluggish US jobs data - the worse reading in over a year in the wake of China-led global growth slowdown, eased fears of an imminent US Fed rate hike.

Gold December delivery shot-up by $22.90 to settle at $1,136.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the NYMEX late yesterday and silver December contract also edged higher to $15.253 an ounce.