Mumbai, Feb 5 || Gold prices fell moderately on Thursday after two days of surge, while silver posted a sharp fall of over 8 per cent.
MCX gold February futures fell 0.98 per cent to Rs 1,51,552 per 10 grams around 10.25 am on an intraday basis. Meanwhile, MCX silver March futures plummeted 8.39 per cent to Rs 2,46,283 per kg.
Gold and silver prices had risen around 6 per cent in the early morning trade but failed to sustain those levels.
Analysts said that the fall in gold and silver at the beginning of the week was checked as markets largely absorbed the nomination of Kevin Warsh as the new Fed Chairman.
Despite diplomatic talks between the US and Iran, safe-haven buying still continues due to rising tensions after US forces shot down an Iranian drone. Iran and the United States are scheduled to hold talks on Friday. The support to the rally on Wednesday also came from a partial US government shutdown and profit-taking in the dollar index from its highs.
The broader uptrend on COMEX Gold remains intact, with the pullback reflecting profit booking and healthy price digestion. Prices are trading below key moving averages, indicating short-term downward pressure and a corrective phase rather than a reversal of the broader trend, market watchers said.