Kathmandu, February 18

The dip in the dollar index and global uncertainty resulted in the price of precious metals to edge up in the week of February 12 to 17.

Looming elections in Europe and political uncertainty in the US are among developments that could shift investor sentiment, according to analysts. Adding to the threat is the potential impact of Britain’s exit from the European Union and a debt crisis in Greece. Such concerns have helped boost the demand for gold in the international market.

The price of precious metals in the domestic market is determined by their rates in the international market.

Gold was priced at Rs 55,400 per tola when the market opened for trading for the week on Sunday and its price remained the same the next day.

In the following two days, however, the price of the precious yellow metal fell by Rs 100 a tola to be traded at Rs 55,300 per tola on Tuesday and Rs 55,200 a tola on Wednesday. Bullion price rebounded on Thursday by Rs 400 per tola to be priced at Rs 55,600 a tola. On Friday, its price went up again by Rs 200 per tola to close the week at Rs 55,800 a tola.

The review of five trading days of the week shows the yellow metal gained Rs 400 per tola. Compared to the previous week’s closing, however, its price went up by Rs 600 a tola.

Similarly, silver was priced at Rs 820 per tola on Sunday and its price remained the same till Wednesday.

On Thursday, price of the white metal edged up by five rupees a tola to be traded at Rs 825 per tola and its price remained unchanged the next day. Hence, its price went up by five rupees a tola when compared to the opening rate for the review period. Week-on-week, however, the white metal gained Rs 20 per tola.