KATHMANDU, AUGUST 29

Even though gold and silver prices have been mostly marching higher as investors purchase precious metals as a perceived safe play against the uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic, the price of precious metals fell in the trading week between August 23 and 28.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (FeNeGoSiDA), gold was traded at Rs 98,400 per tola on Sunday. Bullion price dropped by Rs 500 a tola to Rs 97,900 per tola on Monday.

In the international market, gold edged lower on Monday as optimism over a US health regulator’s authorisation of a COVID-19 treatment lifted Wall Street stocks to record highs, although a weaker dollar limited bullion’s losses. Subsequently, gold price fell by Rs 700 a tola on Tuesday to Rs 97,200 per tola.

Bullion price fell in the international markets on Tuesday on hopes surrounding a potential COVID-19 vaccine and as positive signals on US-China trade front buoyed risk sentiment. As international market rates govern the rate of precious metals in the domestic market, gold price decreased by Rs 400 a tola on Wednesday to Rs 96,800 per tola.

Gold prices rose in international markets on Wednesday on the eve of a speech from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, as investors bet on further economic stimulus to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Hence, the price of the yellow metal rose by Rs 800 a tola to Rs 97,600 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday.

As investors booked profits, gold price fell in international markets on Thursday and thus dropped by Rs 700 a tola on Friday to settle at Rs 96,900 per tola for the week.

While the bullion price fell by Rs 1,500 a tola or 1.52 per cent over the course of the week, its price fell by Rs 1,900 per tola or 1.92 per cent week-on-week compared to closing rate of Rs 98,800 a tola of previous week.

According to Reuters, dealers in India offered the highest discounts on gold in five months this week as a dip in domestic prices failed to revive demand, while in China prices remained at a sharp discount.

Silver price also fell in the domestic market in the week.

As per FeNeGoSiDA, silver was priced at Rs 1,345 per tola on Sunday. Its price declined by Rs 25 a tola to Rs 1,320 per tola on Monday and remained constant the next day. On Wednesday, the price of the grey metal fell by another Rs 10 a tola to Rs 1,310 per tola. However, on Thursday, it surged by Rs 35 a tola to Rs 1,345 per tola. But then, it fell by five rupees a tola on Friday to close the week at Rs 1,340 per tola.

The price of grey metal slipped by five rupees a tola or 0.37 per cent over the review period.

Compared to its closing rate of Rs 1,370 per tola last Friday, silver price slumped by Rs 30 a tola or 2.19 per cent.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 30, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.