Gold surged and reclaimed the Rs 27,000 per 10 grams mark on the domestic bullion market today following frantic buying by jewellery stockists and retail investors in the backdrop of a rally in global markets.
Silver, too, shot up and retraced the Rs 42,000 per kg level on the back of heavy speculative buildup.
Domestic sentiment turned extremely buoyant after the yellow metal soared to multi-week high in overseas trade sparked by a flurry of "safe haven" buying spree in the wake of growing unrest in Iraq as well as disappointing US macro economic data, a bullion trader said.
Furthermore, a sharp fall in rupee against dollar too influenced the price movement.
Standard gold (99.5 purity) rallied by Rs 350 to end at Rs 27,205 per 10 grams from Thursday's closing level of Rs 26,855.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) also climbed by same margin to conclude at Rs 27,355 per 10 grams from Rs 27,005.
Silver (.999 fineness) jumped by Rs 830 to conclude at Rs 42,435 per kg as compared to Rs 41,605 yesterday.
On the global front, gold for August delivery spiked to settle at USD 1,274 an ounce on the Comex division of the NYMEX late yesterday, while silver July contract ended at USD 19.53 an ounce.
The surge in precious metals came on a day when the stock market posted heavy losses with the BSE benchmark index Sensex plunging by nearly 350 points.
