Kathmandu, April 28

The price of precious metals fell in the trading week between April 22 and 27, weighed down by the stronger dollar.

The Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association had set trading rate of gold at Rs 59,000 per tola when trading began for the week on Sunday. Its price remained steady the next day before see-sawing by Rs 200 a tola on Tuesday to Rs 58,800 per tola and to Rs 59,000 a tola on Wednesday. The price of the precious yellow metal was unchanged on Thursday. However, on Friday, bullion price fell by Rs 300 per tola to close the week at Rs 58,700 a tola.

Similarly, the federation had set the price of silver at Rs 780 per tola and its price was stable the next day. On Tuesday, though, the price of the grey metal plunged by Rs 15 a tola to Rs 765 per tola. Its price was unchanged for the next two days before dipping by five rupees a tola to Rs 760 per tola on Friday.

In the international market, gold edged higher on Friday after the dollar and US Treasury yields backed off highs, but the prospect of a Korean denuclearisation deal eroded bullion’s safe-haven appeal.

The physical gold demand lacked vigour in most Asian hubs this week amid a slight dip in prices, according to Reuters, while the yellow metal switched to a premium in India for the first time in over one-and-a-half months due to a correction in local rates.

In India, dealers were charging a premium of up to $1 an ounce over official domestic prices. This compared to a discount of $1 last week as country celebrated annual Akshaya Tritiya festival, when buying gold is considered auspicious. However, retail demand in India, second-biggest gold consumer after China, remained subdued.