KATHMANDU, JULY 24

Gold price in the domestic market hit a record high of Rs 95,800 per tola today.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (FeNeGoSiDA), gold price reached a new peak today going up by Rs 1,300 a tola overnight. On Thursday, gold was at previous all-time high of Rs 94,500 per tola.

As per the federation, ongoing threat of the COV- ID-19 has boosted the appeal of the precious yellow metal in the international market, which has influenced gold price in the domestic market too.

“Due to the COVID-19, most industries across the world are facing losses at the moment. Thus, instead of investing in any industry or business, investors are investing their money in safe haven assets such as gold,” said Mani Ratna Shakya, immediate past president of FeNeGoSiDA.

A large amount of money has been poured into gold at the moment due to which its price is soaring, he added.

Along with the increasing price of the precious yellow metal, more than 50 per cent jewellery shops are closed even though the government has lifted the lockdown. “There is no meaning in opening shops,” Shakya said, “Gold price is soaring to new heights each day and customers are waiting for its price to drop. Except for a few customers who are in need to buy jewellery, other customers are not visiting shops.”

Moreover, customers are mostly visiting shops just to find out the gold price rather than buying anything, he added. He further said that FeNeGoSiDA has estimated the gold price to reach Rs 100,000 per tola by Dashain. “Once the COVID-19 pandemic settles down, gold price will surely drop, however there is no sign of the fall in gold price this year,” he said.

Meanwhile, silver price reached Rs 1,150 a tola today going up by five rupees per tola. On Thursday silver was traded at Rs 1,145 per tola. However, silver is still to make a new record in the domestic market. As per Shakya, the last time silver had set an all-time high record of Rs 1,350 a tola was in 2012.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 25, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.