Gold prices today at Rs 53,970 per 10 gm, silver trends at Rs 62,910 a kg

Gold prices today fell to Rs 53,970 from Rs 53,960 per 10 gm, while silver was trending at Rs 62,910 per kg, according to the Good Returns website.

Gold jewellery prices vary across India, the second-largest consumer of the metal, due to excise duty, state taxes, and making charges.

In New Delhi, the price of 22-carat gold remained at Rs 49,610 per 10 gm, and in Chennai, it climbed to Rs 48,820. In Mumbai, the rate was Rs 49,550 according to the Good Returns website. The price of 24-carat gold in Chennai was Rs 52,250 per 10 gm. 

On the MCX, October gold futures jumped 1.28 per cent to Rs 50,817 per 10 gm, while silver December futures were at Rs 62,884 per kg. 

In a bid to improve its functioning, the Reserve Bank has decided to move to the Next Generation Treasury Application (NGTA) for managing the country's foreign exchange and gold reserves.

The NGTA, according to the RBI, would be a web-based application providing scalability, maneuverability and flexibility to introduce new products and securities, besides supporting multi-currency transactions and settlements.

The NGTA, for which the RBI has invited bids from eligible vendors, would be supporting various transactions in asset classes like Fixed Income (FI), Forex (FX), Money Market (MM) and Gold.

"RBI proposes to implement the NGTA which would be used for managing the foreign exchange reserves in a more efficient way, mitigate risk, achieve operational efficiencies, dealing in various asset classes and reporting," the bid document said.

Meanwhile, the Customs Department questioned M Sivasankar former principal secretary to Kerala Chief Minister, for 11 hours on in connection with the gold smuggling case. He left Commissionerate of Customs (Preventive) after the interrogation. The Customs already questioned him for 11 hours on Friday.