Gold and silver prices in India fell sharply on Monday, tracking weakness in the precious metals overseas. The futures declined on heavy selling by stockists and retailers.
Gold of 99.9% and 99.5% purity fell by Rs. 340 each to Rs. 27,540 and Rs. 27,400 per 10 grams, respectively.
Spot silver slid by Rs. 1,150 to Rs. 56,250 per kg.
Gold and silver futures slid in the international market as the US dollar surged in the wake of the currency intervention by Japan to weaken the yen.
Gold for December delivery slumped US$28.20, or 1.6%, to US$1,719 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex. It recovered later and was last traded at US$1,743.50.
Meanwhile, silver futures for December delivery fell 88 cents, or 2.5%, to US$34.41 an ounce in electronic trading. Silver too recovered and was last trading slightly higher.
The dollar surged against the yen to trade as high as 79.53 yen after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) sold an undisclosed amount of yen on the foreign-exchange market.
The dollar rose against all its major peers.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of six major trading rivals, rallied 1.2% to 75.968. It was last quoted at 75.89.
The yen slumped the most in three years against the dollar, as Japan stepped into forex markets to weaken the currency for the third time this year.
The yen earlier today rose to a postwar record versus the dollar.
The euro fell the most in four weeks versus the dollar amid speculation that Europe’s leaders will struggle to garner financial support for their revamped crisis-fighting plan.
The yen fell against all of the more than 150 currencies after Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi ordered the intervention.
