Silver plunges to Rs 53,300 on global cues, gold down by Rs 410

Snapping their four-day rally, both the precious metals, silver and gold, nosedived today on heavy sell-off by stockists, in tandem with a weakening global trend, pushing silver down by Rs 7,200 to Rs 53,300 per kg and gold by Rs 410 to Rs 22,170 per 10 grams.

Selling in the precious metals gathered momentum as their prices in global markets fell sharply as the dollar advanced against major currencies, reducing demand for precious metals as an alternative investment.

Gold in global markets, which normally sets a price trend on the domestic front, fell by 0.7% to $1,491.30 an ounce and silver by 5.2% to $33.65 an ounce.

Fall in domestic demand at existing high levels also dampened the market sentiment to some extent.

On the domestic front, silver ready nose-dived by Rs 7,200 to Rs 53,300 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 7,440 to Rs 52,300 per kg. Silver coins also plunged by Rs 9,500 to Rs 57,500 for buying and Rs 58,500 for selling of 100 pieces.

In a similar manner, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity dropped by Rs 410 each to Rs 22,170 and Rs 22,050 per 10 grams, respectively. Sovereigns lost Rs 100 to Rs 18,400 per piece of eight grams.