KATHMANDU: Amid the surge in COVID-19 cases, the price of precious yellow metal has hit a historic high of Rs 101,400 per tola in the domestic market today increasing by Rs 1,600 a tola overnight. The gold price had stood at an earlier all-time high price of Rs 99,800 per tola on Tuesday.

The Increasing impact of COV- ID-19 on the global economy has boosted the bullion price in the market. Due to the threat of pandemic, investment in gold has increased, thus the price of yellow metal is going up continuously since the beginning of this year.

Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (FeNeGo- SiDA) had earlier stated that the gold price may surge as high as Rs 150,000 a tola by October this year.

Along with this, FeNeGoSiDA has stated that the gold dealers across the country are now facing worst situation ever.

According to Reuters, gold jumped to a record high today, pushing further past $2,000 in the face of a weak dollar, falling US Treasury yields and expectations of more stimulus measures for the pandemic-ravaged global economy.

“Weakness in the dollar, which fell back towards recent two-year lows, and falling US yields have encouraged investors to look for an alternative store of value — boosting the appeal of gold,” Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, the silver price is also closing in on its all-time high.

According to the FeNeGoSiDA, silver price has reached Rs 1,295 per tola today going up by Rs 65 a tola.

On Tuesday, silver price was fixed at Rs 1,230 per tola.

Mani Ratna Shakya, the former president of FeNeGoSiDA, stated that the silver price is also likely to hit a new record in the market if it continues to go up like this.

“Prior to this, silver price had peaked at around Rs 1,300 a tola in 2013,” he said, “However this year it might scale to a new height.”

Reuters also reported that silver prices surged, jumping 3.2 per cent to $26.84, the highest since April 2013.

Silver, which is both a safe-haven asset and widely used in the industry, has now risen 50 per cent this year.

“Investors fear that economic stimulus unleashed in response to the coronavirus pandemic will trigger inflation, devaluing other assets, and keep bond yields historically low, enhancing the appeal of non-yielding gold,” Reuters reported.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 6, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.