Silver price drops nearly 5% to Rs 2.55 lakh/kg; gold slips to Rs 1.57 lakh/10 gm

New Delhi (PTI): Precious metal prices declined sharply in the national capital on Friday, with silver dropping nearly 5 per cent to Rs 2.55 lakh per kg, while gold slipped to Rs 1.57 lakh per 10 grams as investors kept booking profits for the second straight day.

According to the All India Sarafa Association, the white metal plunged Rs 13,000, or 4.85 per cent, to Rs 2,55,000 per kilogram (inclusive of all taxes) from Thursday's closing level of Rs 2,68,000 per kg.

Similarly, gold of 99.9 per cent purity fell Rs 3,400, or 2.12 per cent, to Rs 1,57,200 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes), compared with the previous close of Rs 1,60,600 per 10 grams.

Traders said the decline in domestic prices was mainly driven by profit-taking at elevated levels even as global precious metal rates staged a rebound later in the day.

In the international markets, bullion prices recovered sharply by more than 4 per cent after an early plunge.

Spot silver gained USD 3.02, or 4.26 per cent, to USD 74 per ounce, rebounding from an intra-day low of USD 64.08 per ounce, when it had dropped nearly 10 per cent.

In addition, gold rose USD 106.74, or 2.23 per cent, to USD 4,887.30 per ounce after touching a low of USD 4,654.86 per ounce earlier in the session.

Spot gold opened on a weak note and hit a low of USD 4,654 per ounce but recovered sharply and is trading with a gain of around 2 per cent at USD 4,880 per ounce, Praveen Singh, Head of Commodities, Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said.

He added that weak jobs data supported precious metals but hopes of a breakthrough in US-Iran talks capped the upside.

"Huge volatility continues in the precious metals complex in the wake of the ongoing Iran-US meeting in Oman and path of US monetary policy going forward," Singh said.