Gold, silver fall further on sluggish demand, global cues

New Delhi, Sep 24. Gold, silver prices extended losses for the fourth-straight session here today on slackened demand amid a weak global trend. While gold fell further by Rs 25 to Rs 30,225 per ten gram, silver lost Rs 85 to Rs 48,940 per kg on lack of buying support from jewellers and industrial units. Traders said sluggish demand due to ongoing "Sharads", an inauspicious fortnight in Hindu mythology to make fresh purchases, mainly kept the precious metals lower. They said sentiment remained bearish after gold in overseas markets fell as stronger dollar reduced demand for the precious metals as an alternate investment. Gold in London, which normally set price trend on the domestic front, fell by 0.6 per cent to USD 1,315.08 an ounce and silver by 0.8 per cent to USD 21.47 an ounce. On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity fell by Rs 25 each to Rs 30,225 and Rs 30,025 per ten gram, respectively. It had lost Rs 560 in last three sessions. Sovereign held steady at Rs 25,000 per piece of eight gram. In line with a general weak trend, silver ready declined by Rs 85 to Rs 48,940 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 135 to Rs 48,790 per kg. The white metal had lost Rs 2,175 in the previous three trading sessions. Meanwhile, silver coins continued to be asked at previous levels of Rs 85,000 for buying and Rs 86,000 for selling of 100 pieces.