Gold falls to Rs 22,840 silver slips by Rs 3,700

Gold tumbled from record high to Rs 22,840 per 10 grams, losing Rs 335 today due to heavy offloading by speculators, driven by a weakening global trend. Silver also shed Rs 3,700 to Rs 67,800 per kg on poor offtake by industrial units. 

Silver coins also plunged by Rs 4,500 to Rs 72,500 for buying and Rs 73,500 for selling of 100 pieces.

Traders said selling pressure gathered momentum following reports that silver futures plunged by 13% in Asian region, the biggest intra-day drop since October 2008, as CME Group raised the amount of cash that traders must deposit for speculative positions.

Fall in demand at existing high levels also dampened the trading sentiments, they added.

Gold in global markets, which normally sets price trend on the domestic front, shed $9.30 to $1,556.40 and silver dipped by 5.38% to $45.36 an ounce.

On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5% purity plummeted by Rs 335 each to Rs 22,840 and Rs 22,720 per 10 grams, respectively. The yellow metal had climbed to Rs 23,175 per 10 grams in the previous trading session.

Sovereigns followed suit and lost Rs 100 to Rs 18,400 per piece of eight grams.

Similarly, silver ready declined by Rs 3,700 to Rs 67,800 per kg and weekly-based delivery shed Rs 4,650 to Rs 65,950 per kg.