Gold edges up in lacklustre trade, silver slips

However, silver dropped, after a three-day surge, on speculative profit taking and reduced industrial off-take.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) moved up by Rs 5 per 10 grams to close at Rs 31,175 from Thursday's closing level of Rs 31,170.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) also went up by a similar margin to end at Rs 31,310 from Rs 31,305.

However, silver ready (.999 fineness) fell by Rs 430 per kg to conclude at Rs 61,500 from Rs 61,930 previously.

"There is very little physical buying of precious metals in the market due to ongoing 'Pitrupaksh' (a period considered inauspicious by Hindus," dealers said.

In Europe, gold traded almost flat amid investor cautiousness over continued speculation whether Spain would request a bailout to bolster its finances.

Spot gold was bid almost flat at USD 1,767.89 an ounce in early trade and silver also was bid moderately lower at USD 33.88 an ounce.