Gold also maintained its downward journey on lack of buying by local parties and lost further ground.

Marketmen said continuous inflow of white metal influenced the market sentiment to some extent. A falling trend in upcountry and international markets was another dampening factor, they said. Gold was quoted down by Rs 4.50 US dollar per ounce at 306.45 US dollar in Hong Kong market. Silver was unchanged at 6.23 US dollar per troy ounce.

Silver .999 (ready) fell further by Rs 60 at Rs 8,550 per kilo and silver delivery by Rs70 at Rs 8580 per kilo on speculators selling. However, silver coins continued to hold its previous position at Rs 10,300/10,500 per 100 coins on scattered support.