While gold fell by Rs 85 to Rs 30,925 per 10 gm, silver declined by Rs 100 to Rs 57,600 per kg on fall in demand among industrial units and coin makers.

When equity markets are rising, you should invest less in debt, as the two have a negative correlation. When equity is doing well, debt returns usually fall, and when debt is doing well, equity underperforms.

Gold prices rose by Rs 90 to Rs 31,220 per 10 gm in the national capitalon sustained buying, driven by Christmas festival demand amid a firm Asian cues.

Gold and silver prices rose on brisk buying by stockists, following pick up in demand at lower levels amid a firm global trend.

Gold prices eased on the bullion market in New Delhi on weakening global trend, while silver gained on emergence of industrial units buying at lower levels.

The surge in asset size of gold funds continues even as the government has taken steps to direct the flow of household savings into equity, mutual funds and other financial instruments, rather than to idle assets like gold.

The late revival of the monsoons and restocking by traders and jewellers ahead of the festive and wedding seasons could be the key reasons for the upward trend in demand, a report said.

High demand during the festive period generally leads to firming of prices of many agricultural products and precious metals. The market will be bullish on most commodities such as gold, silver, refined soya oil, wheat and gur due to festive demand.

Gold prices on Thursday rose to all-time high of Rs 29,695 per 10 grams in the billion market as investors shifted funds from equity markets to the precious metal, considered as a safe-haven investment.

Traders said rising wedding season demand and weakening rupee mainly supported the upswing in the dollar-priced gold.

If you are among those who do not want the hassle of investing in a basket of products that needs to be rebalanced at regular intervals, you can opt for hybrid funds. They allow you to invest in a combination of equity and debt.

Gold has been on an unstoppable rise, giving stupendous returns, as investors seek refuge in it from uncertain markets. One can take advantage of the relentless rise in gold prices by investing in gold equity funds.

Most asset classes saw heightened volatility in 2011, reponding to global cues amid high inflation, corruption and concerns about policy paralysis. Here's the outlook for the year ahead for gold, silver, copper and crude oil.

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While gold surged by Rs 275 to Rs 27,015 per 10 grams, silver gained Rs 1,500 to Rs 55,000 per kg.

Gold and silver have given solid returns during the last few months. We look at whether you should invest in these metals at current prices.

India, the world's largest gold consumer, is yet to buy the yellow metal in bulk, as its two-month-long festival season begins only in late September. Besides, there are no indications yet that the global outlook might not worsen further.

The US and Asian markets made a comeback after a sharp fall on the promising US jobs data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 423.37 points up at 11,142.78. Full coverage

Wall Street's wildest week since 2008 careened into another 400-plus point move for the Dow on Thursday. This time, stocks shot up after investors saw small signs that the US economy might not be headed into another recession.

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