Kathmandu, June 30

The price of precious metals fell marginally in the trading week between June 24 and 29, primarily on the dollar strength.

“Improvement in employment figures, selling pressure in the international markets as well as depreciation of the Indian currency caused gold price to dip in the review period, similar to the previous week,” Dharma Sundar Bajracharya, general secretary of the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (FeNeGoSiDA) said in a statement posted in its official website.

Gold was priced at Rs 57,700 per tola on Sunday and its price remained steady for the next two days. On Wednesday, bullion price dipped by Rs 100 a tola to Rs 57,600 per tola. Gold price, however, rose by Rs 200 a tola to be traded at Rs 57,800 per tola on Thursday. The gain was wiped out the very next day though, as the price of the precious yellow metal fell by Rs 300 a tola to Rs 57,500 per tola.

As per the price list of FeNeGoSiDA, the price of silver was fixed at Rs 770 a tola on Sunday and its price was unchanged for the two subsequent days. The price of the grey metal slipped by five rupees per tola to Rs 765 a tola on Wednesday and was unchanged for the rest of the week.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the gold demand improved in India during the week as prices fell to their lowest level in nearly three months, while demand elsewhere in Asia remained tepid as investors waited for prices to fall further.

“Improving retail demand is giving jewellers some confidence. They are placing small orders,” a Mumbai-based dealer with a private bullion importing bank told Reuters, adding, “Falling Indian rupee is still confusing some.”

Indian rupee hit a record low on Thursday, limiting the drop in local gold prices.

Gold imports into India, the world’s second biggest buyer of the metal, could drop by 18 per cent in 2018 from a year ago, as per a Reuters poll.

In top consumer China, premiums were in a range of $2 to $4 an ounce against the international benchmark, versus $5 to $6 last week.