Sunday, August 4, 2019

Gold price sets yet another record high of Rs 66,300 per tola

The precious yellow metal is traded at a record high of Rs 66,300 per tola (11.664 grams) in the domestic market today.
Gold was traded at Rs 65,800 per tola yesterday, according to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (Fenegosida). “The gold price had increased by Rs 800 per tola yesterday compared to a day ago on Friday,” said the federation that fixes the reference price for gold in the domestic market. The federation attributed the continuous hike in gold prices in the domestic market to the global market due to escalating trade war between the US and China. “The price had climbed up by Rs 200 last Monday before shedding Rs 400 per tola two days later.”
According to former president of the federation Tej Ratna Shakya, “US President Donald Trump’s statement to impose 10 per cent tariffs on another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods starting September 1 has pushed the gold price up. “Global investors are attracted toward bullion which is considered a safe haven for investment when interest rates and dollar are on a downward trend, making the precious yellow metal dearer.”
The decision of the US Federal Reserve Bank to cut interest rate by 0.25 per cent on Wednesday has also impacted the global gold market,” he said, adding that global stocks are on a downward trend and the Indian Currency (IC) is also weakening compared to the US currency due to the Fed decision. “As the Nepali rupee is pegged with the Indian rupee, weakening Indian currency directly affects Nepal’s gold market.”
With the continuous surge in the price, the daily demand for gold in the domestic market has also come down by 75 per cent. Normally, the domestic market consumes at around 35 kg of gold per day, according to the federation.
The dealers buy gold from the commercial banks. The commercial banks can sell a maximum of 20 kg of gold to dealers in a day. According to the central bank, commercial banks imported Rs 29.04 billion worth gold in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2018-19. But the commercial banks are also finding it difficult to sell gold due to rising price.
In the fiscal year 2017-18, commercial banks had imported gold worth Rs 32.2 billion, whereas gold imports stood at Rs 27.43 billion in the fiscal year 2016-17, according to the central bank.

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