Kathmandu, January 20

The price of precious metals dipped in the local market during the trading week between January 14 and 19, although week-on-week, gold price went up slightly while silver was stable.

The Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (FeNeGoSiDA) had set the rate of gold at Rs 57,000 per tola when the market opened for trading on Sunday. Its price remained stable the next day before rising by Rs 200 a tola to be traded at Rs 57,200 per tola on Tuesday. On Wednesday, bullion price was unchanged, but slumped by Rs 400 a tola to be priced at Rs 56,800 per tola on Thursday and remained the same on Friday.

The price of the precious yellow metal dropped by Rs 200 a tola during the course of six trading days of the week. However, compared to the trading price of the previous Friday, when it was traded at Rs 56,600 per tola, gold price went up by Rs 200 a tola by the last trading day of the review period.

FeNeGoSiDA had fixed the rate of silver at Rs 760 per tola on Sunday and its price was unchanged the next day. On Tuesday, the price of the grey metal went up by five rupees a tola to be traded at Rs 765 per tola. However, silver price dropped by five rupees a tola each day for the next three days — to be traded at Rs 760 per tola on Wednesday, Rs 755 a tola on Thursday and Rs 750 per tola on Friday — the same rate at which it closed the previous week. Compared to the first trading day of the review period, however, silver price dropped by Rs 10 a tola by the end of the week.

In the international market, gold demand in China firmed this week as retailers stocked up ahead of the Chinese New Year while price discounts widened in India, partly on expectations of a reduction in import duty in next month’s budget, as per to Reuters.

Gold was being sold at a premium of about $8 an ounce in China, compared with a range of $5 to $8 last week. “Reports from Chinese jewellers suggest demand leading into this year’s Lunar New Year is strong,” ANZ analysts said in a note.

The Chinese New Year, a key gold-buying occasion in top consumer China, starts on February 16 this year.

Meanwhile, gold discounts in India widened to the highest level in nearly four months on expectations of an import duty cut and as higher domestic prices dampened retail demand. The recent rally in gold prices has been hurting wedding season demand, one Mumbai-based dealer with a private bank told Reuters.

Gold prices in India jumped to INR 29,850 per 10 grams this week, the highest since October 16.