Gold edges up on good retail offtake; silver drops

Gold prices advanced further at the domestic bullion market here today on sustained buying from retailers amid ongoing wedding and festive season demand.
In contrast, silver dropped due to renewed speculative selling as well as subdued industrial buying support.
Standard gold (99.5 purity) firmed up by Rs 55 to end at Rs 26,650 per 10 grams from Friday's closing level of Rs 26,595.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) also rose by a similar margin to settle at Rs 26,800 per 10 grams as against Rs 26,745.
However, silver (.999 fineness) shed by Rs 270 to conclude at Rs 37,430 per kg compared to Rs 37,700 yesterday.

On the global front, the shiny-metal snapped a three-day losing steak and closed firmly above the significant USD 1,200 mark on the back of mild short-covering despite stronger dollar and rallying equities.
Gold for June delivery soared to settle at USD 1,204.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the NYMEX late yesterday, while silver for May contract rose to USD 16.38 an ounce.