Gold continues to shine, heads for major weekly rise

• Price settles at Rs153,000 per tola.
• Gold price rise by Rs7,300 per tola during week ended Sept 10.
• Silver prices in domestic market remain unchanged.

KARACHI: Gold was on course to gain for the week as concerns over the rupee devaluation and rising prices boosted its appeal as a safe haven and an inflation hedge, as prices increased on Saturday as the local currency hovered near an all-time low.

The price of gold has jumped by Rs1,300 per tola and Rs1,115 per 10 grams to Rs153,000 and Rs131,173 in Pakistan on Saturday. Cumulatively, the price of yellow metal surged by Rs7,300 per tola during the week ended September 10.

All Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association (APSGJA) determines local prices based on rupee-dollar parity at the open market — as the association members finance gold imports by buying dollars from the open market — and international rates.

In Pakistan, it seems that the larger the depreciation in the rupee at domestic “open markets” — compared to the interbank markets — the higher the price of gold.

It should be noted that the rupee has depreciated by over 10% in the current fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2022 to date) to Rs228.18 against the US dollar at the interbank market. In the previous fiscal year (FY22), it dropped by 30% to Rs205.

Pakistan meets its domestic demand for gold through imports, as it does not produce the metal locally. At present, however, the country is importing a very small volume of bullion since the government has imposed tight conditions on imports to save foreign exchange reserves.

In the international market, the price of yellow metal declined by $4 per ounce to settle at $1,717.

Gold rates in Pakistan are around Rs4,000 below the cost compared to the rate in the Dubai market.

Meanwhile, silver prices in the domestic market remained unchanged at Rs1,540 per tola and Rs1,320.30 per 10 grams.