New Delhi, Jan. 31 -- Following the margin-hike trigger on the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange), aggressive profit-booking began on Friday, leading to a sharp crash in gold and silver prices. The COMEX gold price ended over 11% lower at $4,763.10/oz. Likewise, the COMEX silver price. After closing at $4,763.10 per ounce, the COMEX gold rate today is about 15% below its record high of $5,625.16 per ounce. However, the COMEX silver rate today is more than 31% lower than its lifetime high of $121.755 per ounce.

In India, the MCX gold rate for April futures ended at Rs.1,50,849 per 10 gm, logging an intraday loss of Rs.1,496 or 0.98% against the previous day's close price of Rs.1,52,345 per 10 gm. The MCX gold rate today is Rs.29,930, or 16...