Gold slumped to a fresh six-month low and closed below the psychological Rs 30,000 per 10 gm at the bullion market on Saturday on aggressive unwinding by stockists and traders driven by global sell—off.

Silver also plunged below the important Rs 57,000 per kg mark on the back of frantic speculative selling.

Standard gold of 99.5 per cent purity tanked by Rs 200 per 10 gm to conclude at Rs 29,890 from Friday’s closing level of Rs 30,090.

Pure gold of 99.9 per cent purity tumbled by Rs 195 per 10 gm to finish at Rs 30,030 from Rs 30,225.

Silver ready (.999 fineness) dropped by Rs 445 per kg to close at Rs 56,885 as compared to Rs 57,330 previously.

The yellow metal has been witnessing immense selling pressure after the Government hiked import duty last month.

RBI’s strong policy measures to curb ballooning current account deficit has also taken some shine off the precious metal.

Besides, weakness in rupee against the dollar, sharp rise in domestic stocks and uncertain global situation for gold also contributed to the sluggishness.

The metal, which hit a historic high of Rs 32,500 per 10 grams on November 26 last year, lost a massive 8.03 per cent in today’s trade.

Globally, gold prices fell sharply and touched six—month low following positive comment from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on improvement in US economy amid concerns that monetary stimulus measures may wind down earlier than expected, prompting panic investors to sell aggressively.

The metal briefly breached the $1,600—an ounce mark before regaining some lost ground.

Gold for April delivery shed $26 to settle at $1,609.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the NYMEX late yesterday.

March contract for silver delivery dropped 1.7 per cent to end at $29.85 an ounce.

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