Kathmandu, April 30

The price of precious metals soared — gold up Rs 1,700 per tola or 3.1 per cent and silver up Rs 25 a tola or 3.22 per cent — over the week of April 24 to 29.

"The price of precious metals surged significantly, especially towards the end of the week as the data released on Thursday showed that the United States economy nearly stalled in the first-quarter, expanding only 0.5 per cent at an annual rate," as per the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association (FeNeGoSiDA).

Moreover, on Wednesday, the United States Federal Reserve held off on raising interest rates as expected, while giving no clear indication of its intention to raise rates as soon as its meeting in June. "Hence, investors flocked to precious metals as they are considered a safe haven," said FeNeGoSiDA.

Also, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) shocked markets on Thursday as it held fire on fresh stimulus measures and made no changes to its asset-purchasing programme. "Dealers were caught off guard by the decision, which sent the yen sky-rocketing, especially after another set of weak economic data in the morning had turned up the heat on policymakers to ignite stalling growth," the AFP had reported.

The price of precious metals in the domestic market is fixed in tandem with the international rates. FeNeGoSiDA has said the price of precious metals is likely to rise in the coming week as well, in view of the latest developments in the international market.

The market opened with gold price fixed at Rs 54,800 per tola. Bullion price rose marginally over the next four days — by Rs 100 to Rs 54,900 a tola on Monday, by Rs 200 to Rs 55,100 per tola on Tuesday, by Rs 100 to Rs 55,200 a tola on Wednesday and by Rs 100 to Rs 55,300 per tola on Thursday. The price of the precious yellow metal surged by a whopping Rs 1,200 or 2.17 per cent in a single day to close the week at Rs 56,500 per tola on Friday.

Similarly, silver was priced at Rs 775 per tola on Sunday and its price remained constant on Monday. On Tuesday, the white metal edged up by five rupees to be traded at Rs 780 a tola. On Wednesday, it gained another five rupees to be traded at Rs 785 per tola and remained the same on Thursday. On Friday, similar to bullion price, the silver metal surged by Rs 15 or 1.91 per cent in a single day to close the week’s trading at Rs 800 a tola.