Gold drifts after 3-day upmove on stockists selling

Snapping a three-day rising trend, gold prices drifted at the domestic bullion market here due to fresh bout of selling by stockists as well as subdued local demand.
Silver also fell sharply on the back of heavy unwinding by speculative traders.
Prices of standard gold (99.5 purity) slumped by Rs 180 to conclude at Rs 26,430 per 10 grams from Thursday's closing level of Rs 26,610.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) also shed by a similar margin to settle at Rs 26,580 per 10 grams as against overnight level of Rs 26,760.
Silver (.999 fineness) plunged by Rs 340 to finish at Rs 37,600 per kg compared with Rs 37,940 yesterday.

On the global front, the shiny metal traded little changed amid caution ahead of the US fourth quarter economic growth data outcome later in the day and also rallying equities.
Spot gold was marginally up at USD 1,209.00 in early European trade, while silver softened at USD 16.47.