Kathmandu, March 24

Gold price surged in the trading week of March 18 to 23 as investors scurried to safety after US President Donald Trump moved towards long-promised anti-China tariffs, prompting a response from China amid fears of a global trade war.

“Moreover, softening of the US dollar and slower pace of rise in interest rates also lured investors towards precious metals,” the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (FeNeGoSiDA) said in a statement.

The association had fixed the rate of gold at Rs 57,300 per tola when the market opened for trading on Sunday. Its price dipped by Rs 100 a tola to be traded at Rs 57,200 per tola on Monday. On Tuesday, bullion price rose by Rs 300 a tola to

Rs 57,500 per tola. The price of the precious yellow metal edged down by Rs 100 a tola on Wednesday to Rs 57,400 per tola. On Thursday and Friday, however, gold price soared — by Rs 500 a tola to Rs 57,900 per tola and by Rs 400 a tola to

Rs 58,300 per tola, respectively.

Comparatively, silver price was less volatile, though the price of grey metal also went up slightly in the review period.

FeNeGoSiDA had set the rate of silver at Rs 740 a tola on Sunday. Its price bobbed for the next three days — down five

rupees per tola to Rs 735 a tola on Monday, up five rupees per tola to Rs 740 a tola on Tuesday and down five rupees per tola to Rs 735 a tola on Wednesday. On Thursday, the price of the grey metal went up by Rs 10 per tola to Rs 745 a tola and remained unchanged on Friday.

Meanwhile, physical gold demand in Asian hot spots slouched in the week as the higher global prices made buyers hold off on purchases and as discounts in India widened to their highest in six-and-a-half months.

In top consumer China, physical gold demand did not see much of a shift from last week due to higher global prices, according to Reuters. Meanwhile in Japan, physical demand was weaker than last week as higher prices in local currency prompted selling, Reuters reported a Tokyo-based trader as saying.