Gold softens on muted demand

Snapping its five-day rising trend, gold fell by Rs 40 per 10 grams here today on muted demand from local jewellers and retailers. Silver prices also dropped by Rs 160 per kg on reduced offtake by industrial units. Standard gold (99.5 purity) fell by Rs 40 to close at Rs 30,725 per 10 grams from its last Friday's closing level of Rs 30,765. Pure gold (99.9 purity) also moved down by a similar margin to finish at Rs 30,875 per 10 grams against Rs 30,915 earlier. Silver (.999 fineness) dropped by Rs 160 to finish at Rs 38,550 per kg as against Rs 38,710. Globally, Gold prices were mostly flat as the dollar clawed back some recent losses and stocks rose, but US inflation fears kept buyers in the metal. Spot gold was flat at USD 1,347.31 an ounce at early trade. Among other precious metals, silver was steady at USD 16.67 an ounce after falling 1.2 per cent in the previous session.