New Delhi, September 28 :

The festival spirit has brought joy in the Indian gold market as current low prices coupled with a forecast of new highs by the year-end have propelled sales. After a fortnight of slide to briefly touch $574 per troy ounce, bullion prices have scaled up again to $593.50 per troy ounce.

Buyers returned to shop for the Hindu festival of Diwali and the wedding season even during the shraddha period - a fortnight during which people pray for their ancestors and avoid auspicious activities including buying gold - as the prices touched a low of Rs 8,700 per 10 grams, All Delhi Jewellers Association general secretary Rakesh Saraf said.

Market observers say that Indian buyers have come to accept the fact that the time when gold was available for about Rs 5,000 for 10 grams is over and are ready to make a beeline for gold purchase when prices show signs of getting below what they consider as low.

With prices on the rise again to reach Rs 9,000 per 10 grams of pure gold, the demand is mostly for gold bars, with even small investors seeking to buy 50-100 grams in anticipation of gold scaling past earlier high levels of over Rs 10,000 per 10 grams.