Gold, silver prices in freefall:Silver crashes ₹1.06 lakh to ₹2.9 lakh per kg, gold slides ₹20,000 to ₹1.49 lakh per 10 gms; know three reasons for price drop

Gold and silver prices saw a sharp fall on January 30 due to heavy profit booking. On the MCX, silver plunged ₹1,06,092, bringing the price of 1 kg silver down to ₹2,93,801 by 11:55 PM. Just a day earlier, on January 29, silver was trading at ₹3,99,893, marking a one-day drop of 26.5%. Gold also declined sharply on MCX, falling ₹20,323 (12%) to ₹1,49,080 per 10 grams, compared to ₹1,69,403 the previous day. Gold and silver ETFs dropped up to 23% on Friday as well. In the bullion market, silver fell by ₹40,638 and gold by ₹9,545. According to the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA): · Silver: ₹3,39,350 per kg · 24-carat gold: ₹1,65,795 per 10 grams 3 main reasons for the fall in gold and silver prices · Profit booking: Prices touched record highs in recent days, prompting investors to book profits. · Weak physical demand: Demand for physical gold and silver eased after prices hit all-time highs. · Industrial concerns: Rising worries over industrial demand also weighed on silver prices. Why are MCX and bullion market prices different? · MCX: The Multi Commodity Exchange is an online trading platform where prices change every second based on buying and selling, similar to the stock market. · Bullion market: This involves physical gold and silver. Prices include costs such as transportation, storage, and handling. 2 things to remember when buying gold from jewellers 1. Buy only certified gold: Always choose gold with the BIS hallmark, which confirms purity and carat value. 2. Check prices carefully: Verify the gold rate on the purchase day from trusted sources like the IBJA website, and note that prices differ for 24K, 22K, and 18K gold. 4 easy ways to check if silver is real · Magnet test: Real silver doesn’t stick to a magnet. If it does, it’s likely fake. · Ice test: Place an ice cube on the silver—real silver makes ice melt quickly. · Smell test: Genuine silver has no smell; fake silver may smell like copper. · Cloth test: Rub it with a white cloth—black marks usually mean it’s real silver.