Gold price in Pakistan drops by Rs100 per tola

By
Business Desk
|
— AFP/File
— AFP/File

  • Bullion price settles at Rs115,300 per tola on Friday.
  • "Gold prices will be determined next week as the investors await the monthly US labour market data," Agar says.
  • Silver prices in the domestic market remained unchanged at Rs1,400 per tola and Rs1,200.27 per 10 grams today.


KARACHI: Gold prices edged lower on Friday in the domestic market as a recovery in rupee-dollar parity made bullion more expensive for holders of the local currency.

Gold prices in the local bullion market lost Rs100 per tola and Rs86 per 10 grams to reach Rs115,300 per tola and Rs98,851 per 10 grams.

The precious commodity closed at Rs115,400 per tola and Rs98,937 per 10 grams on Thursday.


Speaking to Geo.tv, AA Commodities Director Adnan Agar said: “Gold prices will be determined next week as the investors await the monthly US labour market data.”

The analyst said that monthly employment data of the US will be announced later today, “which is one of the most important gold price determinants.”

It is pertinent to mention that the gold rates in Pakistan are around Rs1,500 below 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 Rs1,200.27 per 10 grams today.

International bullion market

Gold prices edged higher as the dollar eased slightly, while investors focused on the US labour market data due later in the day, considered key to the Federal Reserve’s schedule for tapering monetary stimulus.

Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,762.49 per ounce, while US gold futures were up 0.2% at $1,762.60.

The dollar eased, buoying gold’s appeal for those holding other currencies.

Gold also seemed to have found some support on comments from an advisor that a default on China Evergrande’s offshore bond obligations was “imminent”.

“Gold is trading in narrow ranges and bargain hunting is appearing on dips towards $1,750, but there’s little inclination to take aggressive positions, especially with non-farm payrolls report on the horizon,” StoneX analyst Rhona O’Connell said.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said it would take one more “decent” jobs report to set the process in motion for a reduction in US central bank’s $120 billion in monthly bond purchases.

If data overshoots to the upside, gold could face a knee-jerk downward reaction as bond yields would probably rise, but “a miss would be supportive for gold as the word ‘stagflation’ is increasingly appearing on the radar and gold benefits from risk-aversion”, O’Connell added.

— With additional input from Reuters