Gold price hits new peak

Closes at Rs105,900 per tola, takes cue from global market

KARACHI:

Gold shined once again on Tuesday as the precious metal price rose Rs1,000 to an all-time high of Rs105,900 per tola due to an increase in the international market.

According to the All Sindh Saraf and Jewellers Association, the price of yellow metal had closed at Rs104,900 per tola on Monday.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Mafa Capital CEO Adnan Agar said the gold price touched a new peak in Pakistan due to an extraordinary increase in the international bullion price. “Coronavirus cases are once again on the rise across the world and investors are investing in safe-haven assets such as gold,” he said. “Though many countries have lifted the lockdown to resume economic activity, a large number of new infections are also emerging.”

He added that the international gold price had already hit an eight-year peak of $1,800 per ounce, which was expected to rise further to $1,840-1,850 because of soaring Covid-19 cases. Agar pointed out that many European countries had once again imposed lockdowns, which posed a threat to risky investments, hence, investors were buying safe-haven assets like gold.

Talking about the local gold price, he anticipated that it would go up further because the uptrend in the international market impacted bullion rates in Pakistan.

“Though the rupee has largely stabilised against the US dollar, which has lent support to gold prices, the international market is not under our control, so the price in Pakistan is also rising,” he said. Pakistan is an importer of gold, therefore, fluctuations in the rupee-dollar parity affect its prices.

Gold dipped on profit-booking by investors after the precious metal rallied to a near eight-year peak amid fresh surge in Covid-19 cases. Spot gold slipped 0.3% to $1,777.72 per ounce by 1213 GMT after earlier touching a high of $1,786.91, just short of nearly eight-year peak of $1,788.96.

(With additional input from Reuters)

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2020.

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