Gold prices flared up and reclaimed the Rs 28,000 per 10 grams level at the domestic bullion market today following a flurry of buying activity from jewellery stockists and investors in the midst of a strong global rally.
Silver also witnessed a robust pull-back to revisit the Rs 45,000 per kg mark on heavy speculative offtake.
Domestic sentiment turned highly bullish after the yellow-metal soared to multi-month high in overseas trade which propelled bullion traders to go long, triggering the dramatic rally to mark the biggest one-day gain in this calender year amid expectations of further upside against the backdrop heightened disturbance in Iraq.
Standard gold (99.5 purity) shot up by Rs 580 to finish at Rs 28,150 per 10 grams from Thursday's closing level of Rs 27,570.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) also jumped by the same margin to end at Rs 28,300 per 10 grams from Rs 27,720.
Silver (.999 fineness) soared by Rs 1,685 per kg to conclude at Rs 45,050 per kg as against Rs 43,365 yesterday.
Globally, in a striking display the shiny metal powered to reclaim the psychologically-significant USD 1,300 an ounce mark as ongoing turbulence in Iraq fuelled investors' renewed focus towards gold as save-haven demand amid bargain hunting after a two-month slump.
The Federal Reserve's decision earlier in the week to keep benchmark interest rates at rock-bottom levels for the foreseeable future also supported the upside momentum in the precious metal.
Gold for August delivery zoomed to settle at USD 1,314.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the NYMEX late yesterday, while silver rose to USD 20.65 an ounce.
