While the yellow metal plunged by Rs 625 to Rs 31,700 per ten gram, silver lost Rs 1,710 to Rs 54,000 per kg on reduced offtake by jewellers and industrial units.Sentiment remained bearish as gold fell in global markets after better-than-expected US economic data backed the case for the Federal Reserve to slow stimulus, traders said.

Gold in Singapore, which normally set price trend on the domestic front, fell by 0.4 per cent to 1,402.65 dollar an ounce and silver by 0.6 per cent to 23.73 dollar an ounce.Besides, sustained selling by stockists on the back of sluggish demand dampened the sentiment, they said.

On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity remained under selling pressure and plunged further by Rs 625 each to Rs 31,700 and Rs 31,500 per ten gram, respectively. The yellow metal had lost Rs 1,575 yesterday. Sovereign, however, remained steady at Rs 25,300 per piece of eight gram.

In a similar fashion, silver ready dropped further by Rs 1,710 to Rs 54,000 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 1,300 to Rs 54,000 per kg. The white metal had tumbled by Rs 2,790 in the previous session.Silver coins followed suit and plummeted by Rs 1,000 to Rs 88,000 for buying and Rs 89,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

PTI