The price of gold has
surged by Rs 800 per tola (11.664
grams) on a single day today, reaching Rs 56,500.
Gold prices rose to
$1580 in the international bullion market, prompting the gold price in the
domestic market to be fixed at Rs 56,500 per tola. The price had been fixed at
Rs 55,700 per tola, on Friday, as the yellow metal reached a 11-month low in
the international bullion market to $1,540 per troy ounce.
The higher dollar
exchange rate has also made gold expensive. The Nepali rupee has weakened to Rs
87.4 per US dollar that also contributed to the price of gold increasing.
The lacklustre job
reports of the US also pulled investors back to gold pushing its
price up. The Labour Department reported that the US economy added just 88,000
jobs in March, signalling that the US Federal Reserve will prolong its
Quantitative Easing — buying. The improved US economy with higher employment
rate and consequent surge in stock prices and dollar exchange rate had led
investors away from defensive instruments such as gold.
However, demand for gold
has yet to be stimulated – in the domestic market – as the wedding season has
not begun.
Domestic consumers do
not rush to buy gold when prices are falling in expectation that it will
further drop. The current market demand is about 30 kg per day, 15 kg more than
the amount allowed to import per day.
Nepal imported gold
worth Rs 15.1 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year. The
government allows only banks to import 15 kg gold per day. Traders have been
asking the government to increase the quota saying that supply is not enough to
meet daily demand. 
No comments:
Post a Comment