The gold today fell below the psychological Rs 25,000 mark -- its lowest level in four-years in late morning trade -- at the domestic bullion hub here on the back of heavy unwinding by stockists and speculators.
The slide, mainly attributed to global spill-over where the broad-based commodities bore the brunt of investors' panic selling recently amid a flash-crash worldwide.
"Speculators and investors are taking out profits fearing the yellow-metal may fall further as overseas traders are bearish on gold at this juncture and cashing out their long positions," a bullion trader commented.
Standard gold (99.5 purity) fell by Rs 250 to Rs 24,870 per 10 gm compared to Tuesday's closing level of Rs 25,120.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) also slumped by a similar margin to Rs 25,020 per 10 grams as against Rs 25,270.
Silver (.999 fineness) also dropped by Rs 175 to Rs 34,550 per kg compared to Rs 34,725 yesterday.
On the global front, the shiny-metal remained under intense selling pressure on funds unwinding despite a weaker dollar.
Spot gold was down at USD 1,095 an ounce in early European trading and silver was quoted at USD 14.72 an ounce.
