Gold softens on weak buying support; silver slumps

Gold prices slipped marginally at the domestic bullion market today due to reduced offtake from stockists and traders, despite bullish global sentiment.
Silver also dropped on the back of reduced speculative demand.
Standard gold of 99.5 per cent purity fell by Rs 30 to conclude at Rs 27,030 per 10 gm from Monday's closing level of Rs 27,060.
Pure gold of 99.9 per cent purity edged down by Rs 35 to finish at Rs 27,155 per 10 gm from Rs 27,190.
Silver ready (.999 fineness) shed by Rs 250 to end at Rs 45,000 per kg, compared to yesterday's close of Rs 45,250.

Meanwhile, in its efforts to curb surging gold demand, the Reserve Bank today extended the restrictions on gold import to other agencies in addition to banks amid worries by the country's widening current account deficit.
Globally, the shiny metal rebounded sharply to close above the psychologically important USD 1,400 an ounce mark after the disappointing US manufacturing sector raised hopes that the Federal Reserve will continue its aggressive monetary stimulus program for now.
Gold for August delivery jumped USD 18.90 to settle at USD 1,411.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the NYMEX late yesterday and July silver contract rose 48 cents to USD 22.72 an ounce.