Gold rises on renewed demand by stockists; silver drops

Gold prices firmed up after brief pullback at the bullion market here today on fresh bout of buying from stockists and retailers supported by seasonal demand.
In contrast, silver remained under selling pressure due to sustained speculative unwinding as well as subdued industrial support.
Standard gold (99.5 purity) rose by Rs 60 to conclude at Rs 26,690 per 10 gm compared with Friday's close of Rs 26,630.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) also edged up by a similar margin to conclude at Rs 26,840 per 10 gm from Rs 26,780, earlier.
However, silver (.999 fineness) shed Rs 165 to finish at Rs 37,210 per kg as against Rs 37,375, yesterday.

On the global front, the shiny metal rebounded to close above the psychologically important USD 1,200-mark on rise in its safe-haven appeal following a sell-off in global equity markets amid renewed worries over Greek's exit from the euro zone and default on its sovereign debt.
Gold for June contract climbed USD 5.80 to settle at USD 1,203.80 an ounce on the Comex division of NYMEX late yesterday, while silver May delivery eased to finish at USD 16.255 an ounce.