Gold strengthens further on sustained demand; silver drops

Gold prices gained further at the domestic bullion market here today on sustained demand from jewellery stockists and retailers.
However, silver snapped its 5-day winning spree and declined following speculative selling amid reduced industrial offtake.
Standard gold (99.5 purity) rose by Rs 50 to close at Rs 31,420 per 10 grams from Thursday's level of Rs 31,370.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) also moved up by a similar margin to end at Rs 31,570 per 10 grams as compared to Rs 31,520 yesterday.
Silver (.999 fineness) fell by Rs 110 per kg to Rs 47,235 as against Rs 47,345 previously.
Globally, gold eased from two-week highs as the dollar steadied, but stayed on track for its biggest weekly gain in two months after the Federal Reserve sounded a cautious note on the pace of interest rate hikes.

Spot gold was down 0.1 per cent at USD 1,334.68 an ounce in early trade, but was nearly 2 per cent higher on the week.
US gold futures for December delivery were down USD 5.30 an ounce at USD 1,339.40.
Among other precious metals, silver was 0.3 per cent lower at USD 19.78, but was the biggest riser this week among the main precious metals, climbing 5.5 percent, the most since the week ending July 1.