Gold, silver prices slide further

KATHMANDU, July 18

Gold and silver prices further declined by Rs 1,200 and five rupees per tola, respectively, over the week, from July 13 to 17. With this fall, gold price reached its lowest level in eight months in the last trading day of the week at Rs 49,500 per tola.

Bullion price has been continuously dropping since the last four weeks as bullion trading has been hit by the Greek crisis in international market. In the last week, gold further lost its lustre in the international market due to strengthening of the dollar, with an easing in jobless claims reinforcing market expectations of a 2015 US interest rate hike. Bullion price in the domestic market is also determined by the international market rates.

The market opened on Sunday with gold price fixed at Rs 50,700 per tola and it remained unchanged till Monday. Bullion price fell by Rs 200 on Tuesday to be traded at Rs 50,500 a tola. The price of gold remained the same on Wednesday.

On Thursday, gold price fell by Rs 300 a tola to Rs 50,200 a tola. It hit an eight-month low on Friday at Rs 49,500 per tola, as the price of gold plunged by Rs 700 per tola in a single day.

Likewise, the price of silver fell by five rupees per tola in the week. Silver was traded at Rs 675 per tola on Sunday. The price of the white metal remained the same till Wednesday — fourth trading day of the week. It then slumped by Rs 10 a tola in a single day on Thursday and was fixed at Rs 665 per tola.

On Friday, the price of the white metal, however, witnessed a gain of five rupees a tola to settle the week’s trading at Rs 670 per tola.