Gold nearly crashed in the first 30 minutes of trading, dropping by Rs 650 at Rs 9,050 per 10 gram while silver melted by Rs 4,400 at Rs 18,500 per kilo.
The weakness was felt in Chennai also where gold lost Rs 420 at Rs 9,160 per 10 gram and silver by Rs 3,190 at Rs 18,630 per kilo. However, Kolkata depicted almost negligible change in prices of precious metals.
The trading sentiment dampened following a steep fall in both the metal prices in international markets, which normally set price trend in domestic markets.
Gold in New York market on Thursday night fell to $613 from its 25-year high level of $647 while silver traded at $11.84 from $14.75.
Silver plunged the most since 1983 on speculation that this month's rally in precious metals was overdone. The fall was more pronounced to a recovery in US dollar and a slip in crude oil prices.
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