Gold prices remain above Rs 24,000

Adding to its appeal as safeinvestment bet, gold on Thursday surged to new record of over Rs 24,000 per 10grams on soaring demand from stockists and jewellery makers ahead of themarriage season.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) gained by Rs 70 to close at Rs24,025 per 10 grams in the Mumbai bullion market.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) also rose by a similar margin tofinish at Rs 24,145 per 10 grams.

Gold prices rose beyond Rs 24,000-level on Wednesday aswell, but closed slightly lower at Rs 23,955 in Mumbai. Pure gold (99.9 purity)also rose by a similar margin of Rs 70 per 10 grams to finish at Rs 24,145 fromRs 24,075 on Wednesday.

The prices, however, fell from Wednesday's record high of Rs24,330 to Rs 24,280 in Delhi,showing a loss of Rs 50.

Traders attributed fall in Delhi prices to reduced offtake at existinghigh levels.

Gold prices in Indiaare mirroring similar trends in the US and other international markets.

In New York,the fear of recession and falling stock markets across the globe have pushedgold to record highs.