Gold. PHOTO: REUTERS
KARACHI: Gold prices hit an all-time high of Rs67,800 per tola (11.66 grams) in Pakistan, taking cue from the uptrend in the international commodity market.
The surge coincided with expectations that the US central bank might revise interest rate upwards on Wednesday, said experts.
Gold prices surged around $8 per ounce (31.10 grams) to a five-month high at $1,248 in the world market on Tuesday.
“The US FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) is likely to increase interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.5%,” Rays Commodities Chief Operating Officer Adnan Agar told The Express Tribune. “Gold remains a safe haven for investors during the time period when interest rate hikes push up inflation.”
Pakistan, which remains a relatively smaller bullion market that largely relies on imports, sets gold prices every day after incorporating different factors including bullion price movements in the international market, fluctuation in US dollar value in domestic and world markets and bullion demand-supply situation in the local market.
Gold prices increased Rs1,450 to a record high of Rs67,800 per tola in Pakistan, the All Sindh Saraf and Jewellers Association reported.
“Gold prices shot up to the new peak in the wake of demand from investors,” commented Association President Haji Haroon Chand.
“Speculation about further depreciation of the rupee to around 150 to the US dollar from 138.92 at present may keep the gold market uncertain in the short run,” he said. Agar said gold had continued to climb over the past one week on expectations that the US central bank would jack up interest rate. “Gold is expected to move in a band of $1,200 to $1,270 per ounce in the short to medium run,” he anticipated.
Agar pointed out that $1,270 would be the next strong resistance level and if that was breached then $1,300 would become the resistance level.
He was of the view that expectations of interest rate hike had kept the US stock market subdued. Similar is the situation in Pakistan where the State Bank has increased interest rate by 4.25 percentage points in the past 11 months to a six-year high of 10%.
In the meantime, Pakistan Stock Exchange has continued to hover around the 38,000-point support level for the past many months.
“In such a scenario, investors relocate their funds from (risky and low-yielding) stock market to risk-free government securities around the world,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 19th, 2018.
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