Kathmandu, March 3

The price of gold dipped, while that of silver was stable in the week between February 25 and March 2.

Price volatility of precious metals in the international market due to strengthening of the US dollar also affected its price in the domestic market, the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (FeNeGoSiDA) said in a statement.

Precious metals prices had dropped sharply in the international market towards mid-week on the back of hawkish talk from the new US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Higher interest rates are negative for gold because they raise bond yields, reducing the attractiveness of non-yielding gold, and tend to boost the dollar.

However, US President Donald Trump’s decision on Thursday to place tariffs on imports of aluminium and steel raised fears of retaliation by other nations and knocked the dollar from a six-week high, making dollar-denominated gold cheaper for users of other currencies.

“The threat of a trade war overpowered fears of interest rate increases,” Ole Hansen, Saxo Bank analyst, told Reuters.

In the domestic market, FeNeGoSiDA had set the trading rate for gold at Rs 57,600 per tola on Sunday. Bullion price rose by Rs 200 a tola to Rs 57,800 per tola on Monday and remained stable the next day.

On Wednesday, gold price slumped by Rs 400 a tola to Rs 57,400 per tola. Bullion price was not revised on Thursday as the market remained closed for Fagu Purnima celebrations. The price of the precious yellow metal rose by Rs 100 a tola on Friday to close the trading week at Rs 57,500 per tola.

Similarly, FeNeGoSiDA had fixed the rate for silver at Rs 745 a tola. Its price went up by five rupees per tola to Rs 750 a tola on Monday and remained same the next day. On Wednesday, silver price fell by Rs 10 per tola to Rs 740 a tola. The price of grey metal rose by five rupees a tola to Rs 745 per tola on Friday.