Kathmandu, November 24

Due to the US dollar gaining strength in the international market the price of gold and silver in the domestic market decreased in the trading week between November 18 and 23.

As per Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (FeNeGoSiDA), gold was traded at Rs 58,700 per tola on Sunday and stayed stable the next day. On Tuesday, gold price fell by Rs 400 a tola to Rs 58,300 per tola. It stayed the same on Wednesday. However, price of the precious yellow metal increased on Thursday by Rs 100 per tola to Rs 58,400 a tola. Gold price again decreased by Rs 300 per tola on Friday to close the week at Rs 58,100 per tola.

Meanwhile, silver was traded at Rs 725 a tola on Sunday and remained stable the next day. Its price fell by Rs 10 a tola to Rs 715 per tola on Tuesday and remained same on Wednesday. However, on Thursday the price of the grey metal increased by five rupees a tola to Rs 720 per tola. Silver price again declined by five rupees per tola to close the week at Rs 715 a tola.

The week-on-week review shows that gold price went down by Rs 300 a tola in the domestic market whereas that of silver was constant.

Global gold prices slipped on Friday as investors banked on the safety of the dollar over worries about a slowdown in the global economy, exacerbated by a sharp decline in oil prices, Reuters reported.

Spot gold fell 0.32 per cent to $1,222.74 per ounce, while US gold futures for December delivery were down 0.39 per cent to $1,223.10 per ounce.

“The dollar index is up and we are waiting for the US Federal Reserve next week, with (chairman) Jerome Powell speaking. We expect he will be on course to continue with the interest rate hike in December,” said George Gero, managing director at RBC Wealth Management, according to Reuters.

Prospects of higher US interest rates are negative for dollar-priced gold as they raise the opportunity cost of holding bullion. “Crude prices are down and that pulls down the buying power of commodity accounts, so people are not buying gold,” Gero added.