Gold gains Rs750 per tola on rupee dip, inflation jitters

• Per tola gold rise Rs750 to Rs125,850 while per 10-grams gold gain Rs643 to Rs107,896.
• Local gold dealers believe investors are afraid of inflation going out of control and therefore buying gold to hedge against that risk.
• In the international market, the precious commodity gain $21 per ounce to settle at $1,809.

KARACHI: Gold prices gained in the local market on Friday as inflation worries boosted demand for the safe-haven metal, even as the rupee held near historic lows on rising bets of a higher-than-expected current account deficit.

Per tola gold rose Rs750 to Rs125,850 while per 10 grams gold gained Rs643 to Rs107,896.

Local gold dealers believe that investors are afraid of inflation going out of control and are, therefore, buying gold to hedge against that risk.

“Slight demand of gold in the market is from investors, despite wedding season the demand from local consumers is completely muted,” a gold dealer mentioned.

In the international market, gold rose on Friday en route to its first weekly gain in five buoyed by a subdued dollar, with bullion's safe-haven allure also helped by inflationary risks.

The precious commodity gained $21 per ounce to settle at $1,809.

The dollar steadied near a more than one-week low touched on Thursday, a day after the US Federal Reserve signalled three interest rate hikes by end-2022, burnishing gold's appeal for overseas buyers.

Analysts said gold gained despite the possibility of higher US interest rates, which increase the opportunity cost of holding bullion because rate hike prospects had been priced in before the Fed announcement.

Meanwhile, silver prices in the domestic market remained unchanged at Rs1,460 per tola and Rs1,251.71 per 10 grams.

— With additional input from Reuters