Prices of precious metals surge to months high

Kathmandu, February 4

Gold price surged by Rs 300 in a single day to over a seven-month high of Rs 52,000 a tola today, while silver rose by

Rs 10 to nearly a three-month high of Rs 700 per tola.

The last time the precious yellow metal had traded at a similar level was on June 22 of last year, when it was priced at Rs 52,200 a tola. Silver, on the other hand, was priced at Rs 700 per tola on November 9.

The price of the precious metals in the international market has been buoyed by expectations that global economic and financial headwinds could make it tough for the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates

in the near term.

The price of the precious metals in the domestic market is governed by the rates set in the international market.

“Uncertainty around the timing of the next US rate hike has burnished gold’s safe-haven draw that has been on full

display since the year began as investors shunned risky assets,” according to Reuters.

William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has said that financial conditions have tightened

considerably and the weakening global outlook could have ‘significant consequences’ for the US economy.

Those comments dragged down the dollar overnight, adding to market expectations that the Fed was unlikely to raise rates again in March. The US rates rose for the first time in nearly a decade in December. The price of precious metals had come under pressure in anticipation and following the news of the rate hike.