Gold steady at Rs439,036 per tola in Karachi; silver up Rs59 to Rs6,234

KARACHI: There was no change in the price of gold in the local bullion market on Monday, but the price of silver rose.

According to the All Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association, 24-carat gold stayed at Rs439,036 per tola. The price of 10 grams of gold also remained steady at Rs376,402. According to The Express Tribune, the price of gold per tola had fallen by Rs1,600 on Saturday.

The price of silver rose by Rs59 to Rs6,234 per tola. According to The News, 10 grams of silver rose by Rs50 to Rs5,344.

According to The News, gold closed unchanged at $4,165 per ounce. Citing Reuters, The Express Tribune reported that at 11:34am US time (1534 GMT), spot gold fell 0.5 per cent to $4,143.91 per ounce, while US gold futures for December delivery fell 0.4 per cent to $4,163.30.

A stronger US dollar made dollar-priced gold more expensive for holders of other currencies. The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes rose 0.6 per cent, putting further pressure on the non-yielding metal.

Adnan Agar, director at Interactive Commodities, said gold was trading near $4,144 per ounce globally, with the day’s low at $4,140 and high at $4,195. He said the market was confined to a range of about $4,070 to $4,080 on the downside and about $4,200 on the upside. He said the next big move would depend on which way the price broke out of this range.

Investors are also watching the oil market and upcoming US economic data. According to The Express Tribune, oil prices fell from a five-month high after US President Donald Trump eased sanctions related to Russian oil. The US Federal Reserve’s policy announcement and data on the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), a key measure of inflation, are due next week. According to traders, there is an 83 per cent chance that the Fed will hold interest rates this month.

Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at Forex.com, said central banks might have to tighten policy further to control Inflation, which was supporting yields, and that gold investors were looking towards the bond market because of the high yields.

In the interbank market, the Pakistani rupee closed at 276.90 against the dollar, a gain of Rs0.01 from 276.91 the previous day. According to bullion dealers, the price of gold in Pakistan is generally set at a premium of about $20 per ounce over global rates, influenced by the exchange rate, import costs and local conditions.