The sell-off wave unleashed by panic-stricken investors and speculators gained momentum as gold plunged to over 15-month lows and crashed below the psychological Rs 27,000 per 10 gram level on the bullion market hub here today amid global mayhem.
Standard gold of 99.5 per cent purity nosedived by a staggering Rs 1,330 to finish at Rs 26,550 per 10 gm from weekend's closing level of Rs 27,880.
Pure gold of 99.9 per cent purity slumped by Rs 1,325 to end at Rs 26,690 per 10 grams from Rs 28,015.
The yellow metal's collapse in overseas markets after bursting of "gold bubble" triggered a panic among domestic investors forcing them to unwind their position heavily.
The shiny metal has been on a sharp decline and breaking through all support levels since last Friday, dropping a whopping Rs 2,840 or 9.66 per cent.
Silver, mirroring the overall bearishness, also took a steep plunge, hitting two-year low and crashing below the key Rs 47,000 per kg mark on frantic speculative liquidation.
Silver ready (.999 fineness) tumbled by a hefty Rs 3,615 to end at Rs 46,990 per kg from last Saturday's closing level of Rs 50,605.
The unprecedented hammering received by gold is alarming. There is a lack of interest in gold right now and everybody seems to be sitting on sidelines, a trader said.
In world markets, gold witnessed a near-term rout after widespread sell-off and crashed below the psychological USD 1,400 an ounce mark to touch two-year lows.
The "best performing commodity over the past decade" took a sudden U-turn, jolted by heightened fears and speculation that Cyprus and other indebted Eurozone countries will be forced to sell their gold holding to pay for bailouts to avoid bankruptcy, spooking markets, analysts said.
Disappointing China growth data as well as uncertainty over duration of US Fed's quantitative easing programmes amid massive ETF outflows added further pressure on the metal.
The US Fed's aggressive policy stimulus and lingering concerns over the debt crisis in Europe amid global economic woes had helped gold stage a record-breaking 12-year bull run.
