Gold spurts on good stockists buying, seasonal demand

Gold staged a smart rebound, snapping a four-session downtrend at the domestic bullion market here on renewed demand from jewellery stockists and retailers as well as robust seasonal buying support. Silver rallied further on the back of heavy offtake by industrial units and speculative traders. Standard gold (99.5 purity) jumped by Rs 235 to finish at Rs 26,505 per 10 grams from Friday's closing level of Rs 26,270.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) also climbed by a similar margin to settle at Rs 26,655 per 10 grams compared with Rs 26,420 previously. Silver (.999 fineness) rose by Rs 350 a kg to conclude at Rs 35,435 from Rs 35,085 last Friday. Bullion market was closed on Saturday in view of 'Raksha Bandhan'.

In worldwide trade, the shiny metal retreated from its seven-week high investors' selling amid renewed rate hike fears after Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer reaffirmed that the Fed had not ruled out an interest rate rise in September. Spot gold was substantially lower at 1,127.70 an ounce in early European trade, while silver quoted little changed at USD 14.45 an ounce