Gold, silver rebound on heavy demand

MUMBAI: Gold witnessed a dramatic recovery today after its overnight sharp fall at the domestic bullion market on frantic buying from stockists as well as robust wedding season off-take.

Silver also recouped some of the lost ground after plunging to fresh four-month lows on aggressive speculative buyout. Standard gold of 99.5 per cent purity rose by Rs 285 to finish at Rs 30,590 per 10 grams from Friday's closing level Rs 30,305.

Pure gold of 99.9 per cent purity also jumped by a similar margin to end at Rs 30,725 per 10 grams from Rs 30,440. Silver ready (.999 fineness) shot up by Rs 840 per kg to conclude at Rs 58,090 over its previous close of Rs 57,250.

Meanwhile, the yellow metal remained under intense selling pressure in overseas trade, spooked by speculation over an earlier-than-expected end to the US Federal Reserve's quantitative easing measures and strong jobs data.

In New York, gold for February delivery plunged by $ 25.70 at $ 1,648.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the NYMEX late yesterday. March silver contract also dropped by 77 cents to settle at $ 29.95 an ounce.