Gold, silver bounce back on robust buying support

Both the precious metals staged a strong comeback from their multi-year lows at the domestic bullion market on Saturday as jewellery stockists and investors went on a buying spree following a sharp rally in precious metals worldwide.

The domestic bullion market went into a tailspin and witnessed a near-term breakdown spooked by a massive rout in global commodity arena in the aftermath of the Fed's decision to wind down its historic bond-buying programme.

Though the overall global environment remains complicated against the backdrop of interest rates uncertainty, strong retail jewellery demand for marriages as well as good investment offtake at prevailing levels supported the sharp pullback, a bullion trader said.

Keeping with the general trend, silver also trimmed most of its recent losses and closed above the Rs 36,000 per kg mark on heavy speculative demand.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) recovered by Rs 440 to conclude at Rs 25,950 per 10 grams from Friday's closing level of Rs 25,510.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) also recouped with the same margin to end at Rs 26,100 per 10 grams compared to Rs 25,660.

Silver (.999 fineness) shot up by a hefty Rs 750 to finish at Rs 36,500 per kg against Rs 35,750 on Friday.

On the global front, the yellow metal snapped its seven-session losing streak and recovered sharply as investors covered short positions after the metal hit a 4-1/2 year low following a retreat in the US dollar.

Gold for December delivery climbed to settle at $1,169.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the COMEX late Friday, while silver gained to end at $15.71 an ounce.