September 25, 2021
KARACHI: Gold prices firmed on Saturday, propped up by a softer dollar and fading concerns regarding monetary policy tightening.
The yellow metal was up Rs200 at Rs113,500 per tola and increased by Rs172 to Rs97,136 per 10 grams. The rates of gold were Rs113,300 per tola and Rs97,136 per 10 grams on Friday.
Cumulatively, the safe-haven asset gained Rs1,000 or 0.8% per tola during the outgoing week.
However, it is pertinent to mention that gold rates in Pakistan are around Rs1,000 below the cost compared to the gold rate in the Dubai market.
Meanwhile, silver prices in the domestic market remained unchanged at Rs1,400 per tola and Rs1,753 per 10 grams on Saturday.
Gold prices rose due to a subdued dollar and as investors avoided riskier assets because of China’s Evergrande saga, but looming interest rate hikes slowed bullion’s advance.
Spot gold was 0.4% higher at $1,750 per ounce but still on course for a third consecutive week of falls.
US gold futures settled up 0.1% to $1,751.7.
Although gold recovered some ground after Thursday’s 1% fall, OANDA analyst Craig Erlam expected gold to weaken again.
“We will see a continuation of the downward trend driven by the US Federal Reserve's stance, especially as some of the fears surrounding Evergrande have subsided,” he said.
“The Fed has announced that tapering is ahead, the next step is when it’s implemented, that will push real rates even further up, and that should be negative for the gold,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo, adding it would cause day-to-day volatility.
— With additional input from Reuters