New Delhi, Sep 24 (PTI): Gold prices declined below the Rs 28,000 mark across the country, barring Delhi, on Friday as investors offloaded gold stocks to cover losses in equity and other commodities.
The precious metal in Mumbai suffered the most, losing Rs 580 to Rs 27,585, followed by Kolkatta where it fell by Rs 440 to Rs 27,965.
In Chennai gold declined by Rs 350 to Rs 27,970 per ten grams, while in Delhi it slumped by Rs 300 to Rs 28,040.
Panicky speculators also offloaded their position in futures trading, placing the metal lower by nearly 2 per cent to Rs 27,361 per ten grams on the MCX.
The market received a jolt as gold in global market fell below USD 1,700 an ounce and headed for the biggest weekly drop since 2008.
The metal is down 6.7 per cent in world markets this week, its biggest drop since December 2008, after touching a record USD 1,923.70 on September 6.
On the domestic front, retail customers refrained from purchasing precious metals due to the ongoing 'shradh,' an inauspicious fortnight in Hindu mythology for making fresh purchases, dampening the trading sentiment.
"The market has no physical transaction this week following an inauspicious fortnight and higher prices," said All India Sarafa (Bullion) Market general secretary Sheel Chand Jain.
He added the market followed the international trend. A Delhi-based gold merchant Rakesh Anand said retail customers were avoiding making any purchases these days as they were looking for a better opportunity in case of further such falls.
He said world commodity and equity markets plunged this week on concerns that policy makers were running out of tools to avert another global recession, and shifting interests in the forex market, particularly the US dollar.
The weakening rupee also put pressure on the dollar-priced gold and silver prices, Anand said.
Meanwhile, the rupee traded at Rs 49.90 per dollar in the forex market as lingering Euro crisis pushed up the demand for the dollar globally.
The BSE Sensex also declined 200 points today, bringing the market down by 4.6 per cent this week, the most since July 2009.