Kathmandu, January 8

The gold price again hit a new record of Rs 76,500 per tola today in the domestic market.

Although the gold price had declined by Rs 500 a tola on Tuesday compared to Rs 76,000 per tola on Monday, its price went up after Iran attacked an army camp of the United States based in Iraq this morning.

The surging price of bullion has put the gold dealers in the country on edge. As per traders, while January is an off-season for the bullion market, the domestic market was already affected by the US-China trade war and another conflict of the US with Iran, which has caused the price of the precious yellow metal to spike, has further dented its demand in the local market.

The gold price has been setting one record after the other since August. “After setting back-to-back records, the gold price had finally stabilised at around Rs 70,000 per tola, which had started to attract consumers back to the gold market,” said Mohan Kumar Sunar, president of the Federation of Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (FeNeGoSiDA).

However, the conflict between Iran and the US has hit the bullion market quite badly in the last six days, he added.

“While we were hardly selling 10 kg of gold per day earlier, the trade has declined to seven to eight kg a day recently,” he said.

He further said that the gold dealers are now not only worried about their income but are even struggling to pay the interest on loans they had taken from the banks.

Moreover, small bullion outlets are in much trouble as they have to survive on their daily sales. “With the decline in gold trade, we are facing difficulties to pay loan interests and rent while the government has also increased customs tax on gold imports,” he added.

On January 8, 2019, gold was traded at Rs 59,800 per tola in the domestic market.

As per Sunar, the gold price is unlikely to go below Rs 70,000 a tola any time soon.

Likewise, the market has also been affected by strengthening of the dollar.

Currently, one US dollar fetches Rs 115.24, against Rs 111.80 on January 8 last year.