Gold, silver drop on sluggish demand, global cues

New Delhi, Sep 27. Gold and silver prices tumbled in the national capital today on sluggish demand and a weak global trend. While gold prices declined by Rs 340 to Rs 30,200 per ten gram, silver dropped by Rs 540 to Rs 48,455 per kg on reduced offtake by jewellers and coin makers. Traders said sluggish demand due to ongoing "sharads" an inauspicious fortnight in Hindu mythology for making new purchases mainly kept pressure on gold and silver prices. They said a weakening global trend where gold dropped, following an unexpected decline in US jobless claims boosted speculation the Federal Reserve might taper stimulus, further influenced the sentiment. Gold in Singapore, which normally sets price trend on the domestic front, declined by 0.13 per cent to USD 1,322.10 an ounce. Silver lost 0.4 per cent to USD 21.64 an ounce. On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity plunged by Rs 340 each to Rs 30,200 and Rs 30,000 per ten gram, respectively. However, sovereign held steady at Rs 25,000 for a piece of eight gram in restricted activity. Silver ready tumbled by Rs 540 to Rs 48,455 per kg and weekly-based delivery by a similar margin to Rs 48,355 per kg. Silver coins also dropped by Rs 1,000 to Rs 84,000 for buying and Rs 85,000 for selling of 100 pieces.