Gold extends downward trend; silver slips to one-month low

Gold continued its slide for the fourth straight session at the bullion market here today owing to consistent selling by stockists and drop in demand as the yellow metal dipped to multi-week low in overseas markets.
Silver plummeted to one-month low and finished below the key Rs 45,000 per kg mark following heavy unwinding from speculative traders.
Standard gold (99.5 purity) fell by Rs 90 to conclude at Rs 27,720 per 10 grams from Thursday's closing level of Rs 27,810.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) declined by Rs 85 to finish at Rs 27,870 per 10 grams against Rs 27,955.
Silver (.999 fineness) dropped sharply by Rs 695 to end at Rs 44,755 per kg from the overnight level of Rs 45,450.

On the global front, gold slumped to a five-week low on strong dollar and hedge funds' selling spooked by stronger -than-expected US macro data amid speculation that the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates sooner than anticipated.
Spot gold was trading weak at USD 1,291.60 an ounce in early European trade after after losing nearly 1 per cent on COMEX yesterday.