Gold drops Rs7,000 to seven-week low

Loses shine over global profit-taking after touching peak

KARACHI:

Gold price dropped on Tuesday by Rs7,000, or 2.5%, hitting a seven-week low at Rs270,500 per tola (11.66 grams) in line with the downward trend in international markets as global investors reverted to the long overdue profit-taking.

With the latest correction, the precious metal has cumulatively decreased Rs17,400, or 6%, in slightly less than two weeks since hitting the all-time high of Rs287,900 per tola in late October.

All Pakistan Saraf Gems and Jewellers Association reported that gold – considered a safe-haven asset – lost $77 to $2,593 per ounce (31.10 grams) in the global market. It has dipped $191, or 6.87%, in two weeks compared to the record high of $2,784 per ounce hit in October.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Interactive Commodities Director Adnan Agar said global investors, who bought gold at cheaper rates, "are now selling it at relatively higher prices to book profit. "The correction had been overdue for the past several months," he said.

Agar did not rule out further profit-selling by global investors over the next two months, pulling the price down by $300-400 to around $2,400 per ounce until US president-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20, 2025.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani currency depreciated Rs0.07 to close at Rs277.93 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market amid the ongoing economic review by the IMF under its $7 billion Extended Fund Facility.