Gold slips on poor buying amid global bearishness

MUMBAI: Gold continued downward spiral for the fourth-straight session at the domestic bullion market today due to lack of demand from retail consumers amid uncertainty surrounding aftermath of Fed policy outcome.

Elsewhere, silver also dropped sharply owing to consistent speculative unwinding coupled with lacklustre industrial demand.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) fell by Rs 50 to conclude at Rs 26,525 per 10 grams compared to Thursday's Rs 26,575.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) also shed by a similar margin to settle at Rs 26,675 per 10 grams from Rs 26,725.

Silver (.999 fineness) slumped by Rs 190 to finish at Rs 41,320 per kg against Rs 41,510 yesterday.

On the global front, shiny metal plunged further sharply, touching its lowest level in nine months on the back of heavy funds unwinding following robust US macro data as well as falling jobless claims data amid a strong dollar.

The data came a day after the Federal Reserve slashed its monthly bond-buying programme by another USD 10 billion and kept interest rates near zero for a considerable time, dampening the metal's safe-haven appeal.

Spot gold was lower at USD 1,222.80 an ounce in early European trade.