Gold softens on subdued demand, silver slumps

Gold prices moved down marginally today due to decreased buying by stockists and retail consumers on account of the sluggish global sentiment.
Silver also fell back on heavy speculative unwinding coupled with lack of industrial support.
Standard gold (99.5 purity) edged lower by Rs 43 at Rs 28,374 per 10 grams at 1700 hrs from Rs 28,417 on Thursday, a bullion trading firm said.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) eased by Rs 32 at Rs 28,524 per 10 grams from Rs 28,556 previously, according to Riddisiddhi Bullions Ltd.
Silver (.999 fineness) dropped by Rs 332 to Rs 43,165 per kg at 1700 hrs from yesterday's Rs 43,497.

On the global front, the shiny metal finished lower on investors caution ahead of the highly-anticipated US nonfarm payrolls report later in the day.
Gold for June delivery lost USD 6.20 to settle at USD 1,284.60 on the comex division of the NYMEX late yesterday and May silver contract also declined to end at USD 19.805 an ounce.