KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 6
Domestic gold traders are anticipating a good demand for the precious yellow metal in the upcoming wedding season after witnessing some improvement in the market during the festivals. However, restrictions imposed on the import of gold by the government will affect supply, insiders say.
"The demand for gold during Tihar was better than expected although it was still less than the previous year. We are making preparations to meet the demand of the upcoming wedding season. Traders will face problems in meeting the demand due to supply issues in the market as a result of restrictions imposed on the import of gold by the government," Manik Ratna Shakya, president of the Federation of Nepalese Gold and Silver Dealers' Association (FeNeGoSiDA) said.
He also said that the government should manage the country's foreign exchange reserve crisis soon and remove the limitations imposed on imports to assist traders in meeting the demand of the consumers. "The demand for the precious yellow metal has reached 30 kg per day but the restrictions have negatively affected supply and traders are having to procure raw gold by paying premium prices," Shakya added.
Earlier, the central bank had imposed restrictions on the import of gold, reducing the import amount of bullion to 10 kg a day citing the depleting forex reserves of the country.
Gold price surged by Rs 1,400 a tola to be traded at Rs 94,500 per tola in the domestic market today as per the rate list of the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association (FeNeGoSiDA).
According to Reuters, gold price has surged as the dollar fell after data showing an uptick in the US unemployment rate in October raised optimism the Federal Reserve would be less aggressive on rate hikes going forward. The dollar index fell 1.6 per cent following the jobs data, making greenback-priced gold more appealing for overseas buyers, it said.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 7, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
