Gold dips to Rs 54,000

KATHMANDU, NOV 22 - 2013

Local bullion prices cooled down in a reflection of international trends with gold dropping Rs 1,600 per tola. The Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (Fenegosida) on Thursday set the price of the yellow metal at Rs 54,000 per tola (11.664 gm). On Wednesday, gold traded at Rs 55,600 per tola.

Similarly, silver became cheaper by Rs 40 per tola. Silver traded at Rs 865 per tola on Thursday, down from Rs 905 on Wednesday.

Meanwhile in the international market, gold traded at US$ 1,283.17 per ounce on Thursday. World prices stood at US$ 1,247.53 per ounce on Sunday. Fenegosida maintained Sunday’s prices till Wednesday since the Nepali market was greatly affected by the Constituent Assembly (CA) polls.

“As we fix the rates based on international trends, prices have dropped in the market here,” said Mani Ratna Shakya, president of Fenegosida. “As prices in the international market remain volatile, we cannot predict local prices until tomorrow morning.”

Meanwhile, the sharp fall in gold prices is expected to bring smiles to wedding shoppers. Gold sales jump during the marriage season which lasts from mid-November to mid-December due to large purchases to make bridal jewelry.

Traders say that the market witnesses a growth of over 100 percent during the month compared to normal times. Demand remains on the high side until mid-February.

“Due to the CA election, people were too preoccupied to visit the bullion market to buy gold . We are expecting a huge rise in sales from now onward,” said Shakya. Demand for the precious yellow metal is certain to remain high throughout the country, he added.

However, political stability will play a crucial role in the performance of the bullion market, he said. “Demand will definitely be higher. However, if there is political stability, it will be much greater than expected,” said Shakya.

While the usual daily requirement of gold in the local market is estimated to be 15-20 kg, it jumps to more than 40 kg during the period mid-November to mid-December.

Considering the surge in demand during this time of the year, Nepal Rastra Bank has permitted banks to import 20 kg of gold daily until mid-December.

The central bank allows banks to import only 15 kg of gold daily during other times.

Source: The Kathmandu Post

Govt told to raise import duty on gold

KATHMANDU, June 8, 2013

Gold traders have requested the government to raise import duty on gold.

They made such a request arguing that duty hike on gold in India would spur smuggling of yellow to the southern neighbor at a time when the local market is facing shortage of gold.

India on Wednesday hiked gold import duty from 6 percent to 8 percent to curb its current account deficit.

“At a time when the domestic market is facing gold shortage, the recent duty hike in India might increase gold smuggling to India,” Mani Ratna Shakya, president of Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers´ Associations, told Republica. “Hence, we have requested the government to hike the duty as soon as possible.”

If customs duty on gold is raised in line with India, the yellow metal will be dearer in the domestic market by around Rs 1,000 per 10 grams. But traders have requested the government to increase the import duty by at least Rs 1,500 per 10 grams to prevent smuggling of gold to India.

“If the government does not raise duty immediately, the duty hike in India, which has made gold expensive there compared to the local market, will encourage smugglers to illegally export the yellow metal to India to get Indian currency which is selling at higher rates in black market,” Shakya added.

Shakya told Republica that the federation has already raised the issue before the Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank - the central bank. “The Governor has assured us that he would look into the issue and do the needful,” he added.

Bullion traders have demanded that the government take the decision on the issue at the earliest.

The government has been levying customs duty of Rs 3,000 per 10 grams on gold. It had raised duty on January 24 by Rs 700 per 10 grams after the southern neighbor increased duty on refined gold to IRs 2,880 per 10 grams.

Source: Republica

Gold price slides further; reaches Rs 49,100 per tola

KATHMANDU, MAY 20 - 2013

Gold price has continued to drop further, pushing up the demand in the local market.

The price of the precious yellow metal dropped by Rs 650 to reach Rs 49,100 per tola (11.664 gm) on Sunday. The metal was traded at Rs 49,750 per tola on Friday. The local price set by the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silvers Dealers Association (Fenegosida) is based on Friday’s closing price of $1,360 per ounce in the international market.

As an impact of the sharp fall of Rs 6,300 in two days, the gold price had declined to Rs 49,500 per tola on April 16. Last Sunday, the yellow metal was traded at Rs 51,900 per tola. The price of silver has also declined by Rs 5 to Rs 855 per tola.

Gold dealers said the price continued to fall with investors in international market diverting their interest from gold and the dealers expect the price to go further down for a few more days. “The price in the local market is in downward momentum due to the impact of decline in international market price,” said Manik Ratna Shakya, general secretary of Fenegosida.

With the price going down, the demand of the precious metal has increased in local market. Normally, when the price goes down, customers throng to jewellery stores to buy gold items.  However, with high demand and low supply, black marketing is thriving in the domestic market, traders said. The seizure

of 16 kg gold by the police last week is an example.

The demand is further fueled by the ongoing wedding season. The demand has gone up to around 50 kg a day from normal

30 kg per day.

After gold dealers demanded the government to increase the daily quota amid increasing demand, the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) last week increased the quota to 20 kg per day from earlier 15 kg. However, Shakya said the increased quota of gold is yet to arrive in the market.

Gold price in international market, that generally guides the price trend in the domestic market, fell for the seventh straight session on Friday as the dollar strengthened and investors cut exposure to the metal, sending holdings in exchange-traded funds to their lowest in four years, according to reports. Gold is less than $50 away from the two-year low hit in mid-April when the price declined to $1320 per ounce.

CIAA seeks clarification from NRB on gold shortage

The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Sunday sought clarification from the NRB on the shortage of gold being faced in the local market. It has directed the central bank to give reason why customers are not being able to buy gold at the reduced price in line with international market, and a solution to the shortage within the next three days. The anti-graft body has also directed the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology to come up with measures to make the quality and weighing of gold reliable. The move has come after a government monitoring team last month found three jewellery shops in the Kathmandu valley cheating on customers in quality and weight in gold and silver jewelleries.

Source: The Kathmandu Post

Gold price drops, sinks to 20-month low

KATHMANDU, APR 17, 2013

Gold plunged to 20-month low in the domestic market today, triggering a shopping frenzy, as buyers rushed to jewellery stores to make good use of unprecedented depreciation of the yellow metal.

Gold price dropped by Rs 3,000 today, on second consecutive day after it had the biggest drop in a day of Rs 3,300 yesterday, to Rs 49,500 a tola (11.664 grams), with the yellow metal pegged at $1,360 per troy ounce in the international market.

“Yesterday customers were less excited about the drop in price but depreciation of gold on the second consecutive day has sharply increased the demand,” said Manik Ratna Shakya, General Secretary of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Federation. The gold price started falling yesterday after the international bullion market witnessed panic selling by gold hoarders, pulling the price down to $1,460.

“Buyers are lapping up the downfall trend, considering it the best time to buy jewellery for wedding season,” Shakya said, hinting that the supply constraint of 14 kg per day will come into play any time soon. As the global gold price retreated to a two-year low, price in the domestic market plunged to its August 2011 level. The yellow metal price has come down by almost 20 per cent from the highest ever recorded price of Rs 61,848 per tola back in November 2012.

The proposal that Cyprus sell some of its gold reserves to pay off debts in accordance with suggestions from the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund triggered the current bout of plunge. Reports suggest that large sell-orders placed by big investment banks spooked the markets and led to current decline.

Cyprus selling its gold reserves reflected larger monetisation of gold reserves across other European central banks that are going through debt troubles. In addition, the US Federal Reserve is expected to conclude its bonds buying drive to keep interest rates at near-zero level soon following some positive signs of recovery in the economy. If the Federal Reserve allows interest rates to rise, that will counter inflation concerns, and gold will lose its sheen as a safe-haven investment.

Last week, Goldman Sachs — one of the largest investment banks in the world — suggested its clients to take short position in gold, implying ‘sell gold at current price then buy it when the price plunges’. The bank had noted last week that the decline in gold could be faster than analysts had initially expected. It has been urging its clients to sell gold since December 2012.

Source: THT

Gold price suffers biggest single day fall

APR 16 - 2013

Triggered by a huge downfall in the international market, the domestic market witnessed the biggest single day drop in price of gold on Monday.

The precious yellow metal was traded at Rs 45,010 per 10 gm (Rs 52,500 per tola), down from Rs 47,840 for 10gms on Sunday.

This is the biggest drop in the price witnessed by the domestic bullion market so far. Earlier in mid-November 2011, price of gold had fallen by Rs 2,155, per 10 gm, the second biggest fall in the price. It could bring a huge relief to those tying knot as people have been compelled to spend massively on gold purchases.

Gold price in the international market dropped dramatically as investors across the globe started opting to put their money on property, equity and fixed deposits. News agencies have reported that the improvement in the US economy, coupled with the Euro and Cyprus issues, has led to investors shifting from gold to equities and other investment avenues.

Reuters reported that gold dropped as much as 6.3 percent on Monday to below $1,400 per ounce for the first time since March 2011 as the market’s downward momentum gained speed after more than four months of investor selling.

According to Manik Ratna Shakya, general secretary of Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association (FNEGOSIDA), the current bullion price has come down to the level that was at the same period last year. The price of the precious metal had hit a record high of Rs 53,275 in September 2012.

“Due to volatility in gold price in the international market, the price has been going down continuously in the recent days,” said Shakya. “It might drop further on Tuesday but is unlikely to go down drastically as today.”

Despite massive downturn in gold price, gold traders claimed that sales dropped dramatically on Monday compared to Sunday. They said people are expecting further drop in price. “People are confused and are in wait-and-watch mode, predicting the price to go down further,” said Narendra Kumar Gupta, chairman of Shree Riddhi Siddhi Jewellers.  Manish Pradhan, director of Arsi Jewellers echoed Gupta. “Compared to Sunday, our sales have fallen down significantly.”

Despite the current drop in demand, trade pundits predicted a short supply of gold in the market in the near future. “There isn’t much demand now despite the beginning of wedding season. But once the price starts to pick up after a possible further fall, the market will witness shortage of gold .” Gupta said, pointing to trends of Nepali customers who prefer buying gold when the price starts going up after a slip.

The ceiling on gold import imposed by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) too is likely to contribute to the possible bullion shortage, traders said. The traders have long been demanding to increase the current quota of 15kg but the central bank has been resisting it.  “The current daily import quota is insufficient even during normal days,” Shakya said.

He added that the failure of Agriculture Development Bank to supply gold in the local market on Monday would worsen the crisis, once the demand starts swelling. The bullion traders have planned to meet Finance Minister Shankar Koirala to request him to increase the quota.

Source: The Kathmandu Post

Dollar loses against Rupee, Gold price falls

KATHMANDU, Jan 12: 

Nepali rupee strengthened for the third straight week against the US dollar this week as the Indian currency, with which Nepali rupee is pegged, gained due to dumping of US dollars by Indian exporters and rise in flow of overseas funds in Indian stocks.

Despite mid-week rise in US dollar against Nepali currency, Nepali rupee strengthened by 25 paisa against the dollar over the week.

Gold, on the other hand, slid on the last two trading days of the week in the domestic market with the price down by Rs 155 per 10 gram over the week.

Currency

Nepali Rupee rose by Rs 0.25 against the dollar over the week. This helped import cost to go down but also lowered export and remittance receipts.

Nepali rupee opened at Rs 88.05 against the dollar for the week on Sunday. As inflow of dollar slightly decreased, Nepali rupee weakened by 35 paisa on Monday. The Nepali currency shed another 10 paisa on Tuesday and three paisa on Wednesday. However, Nepali currency gained 49 paisa on Thursday due to strengthening of Indian currency on the back of dumping of US dollars by Indian exporters and rise in flow of overseas funds in Indian stocks. Nepali currency gained another 24 paisa on Friday, the final trading day of the week.

Likewise, Nepali rupee gained Rs 24 paisa against the euro over the week to close at Rs 114.72 on Friday. Nepali rupee also gained 72 paisa against the pound sterling during the week to end at Rs 140.66 on Friday.

Bullion

Despite rise seen in initial days of the week, gold surrendered Rs 155 per ten grams over the week. The yellow metal closed for the week at Rs 50,000 per 10 grams on Friday.

Bullion trading opened this week with gold price fixed at Rs 50,155 per 10 grams on Sunday. The price of the yellow metal continued to rise and reached Rs 50,240 on Wednesday, before taking dips on Thursday and Friday.

Meanwhile, the price of silver went up by Rs 13 per 10 grams in the domestic market this week. Silver was traded at Rs 947.50 per 10 grams on Friday.

Source: Republica

Gold traded at record price

KATHMANDU, NOV 26, 2012

The price of gold jumped by Rs 1,000 on a single day’s trading, pushing its price to another high in the domestic market.

Gold reached another record at Rs 61,850 per tola (11.664 grams) today. It had hit Rs 61,760 per tola in early September, following the US Federal Reserve’s announcement of a monetary stimulus package.

“The dollar has become weak which has led to an increase in gold price even here,” pointed out president of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association Tej Ratna Shakya.

The increased gold price has also been fuelled by the ongoing gold shortage in the market. “We have requested authorities to increase the import quota of gold from 15 kg per day but so far nothing has been done,” he said. According to bullion traders, at present, daily demand for gold is as high as 35 kg per day.

Price of gold crossed $1,745 in the international commodities market after the dollar index fell against a basket of other currencies. The weaker dollar propelled investor confidence in gold.

Moreover, central banks worldwide are purchasing more and more gold which has shot the demand up even among smaller investors.

The central banks that have been buying gold in recent years include Russia, Mexico, South Korea, Thailand, India, China and lately Brazil.

Source: THT

Gold shortage hits local market

KATHMANDU, NOV 20 - 2012

Domestic market is facing acute shortage of gold even as the daily demand of yellow metal continues to  surge due to wedding season. Traders say there is a demand for more than 30 kg of gold a day but the supply has remained below 15kg. And with the banks failing to supply gold this week due to Tihar holidays, the situation turned from bad to worse.

According to bullion traders, the yellow metal is being sold with a premium of Rs 1,000 per tola (11.664 gm) over the daily price fixed by the Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association (Negosida). The association on Monday set the precious metal price at Rs 51,870 per 10 gm, but customers rushing to gold shops could not find gold at that price.

Negosida President Tej Ratna Shakya blamed inadequate supply for the higher price. “Because of poor supply, they have reduced taking orders for new jewelry for weddings,” Shakya said.

The traders have been demanding the government increase the gold quota, saying that the provision of 15 kg a day was insufficient. The supply situation has worsened after some commercial banks authorised to release gold in local market were unable to import from international market last week because of Tihar holidays.

It was the turn of Mega Bank and Civil Bank to import and release gold in Bagmati Zone and outside, respectively. The central bank provision requires banks importing gold to distribute 60 percent of the daily quota of 15 kg in Bagmati Zone and the remaining in other parts of the country.

Mega Bank said that it would import gold and start selling from Tuesday. “We could not import gold in time because of Tihar vacation,” said Anil Shah, the bank’s CEO. “There is a demand for 350 kg in the market . But we will be able to import and sell only 50 kg on Tuesday.”

Likewise, Civil Bank said that it would be importing gold by Thursday. Bankers argued failure to import gold in time was not the main reason behind the shortage, but it was due to bigger demand.  Daily demand for gold during the wedding season ranges from 30 to 40 kg a day. Since commercial banks are permitted to sell only 15 kg, remaining demand is being partially fulfilled by gold imported illegally, they say. “Gold is also being used as a mode of payment to Indian traders due to shortage of Indian currency,” a trader said, lamenting that it was hard to find Indian currency notes even at the rate of Rs 168 per IRs 100. The official exchange rate is Rs 160 per IRs 100.

Source: The Kathmandu Post

Gold roars to a new high; nears Rs 60,000 per tola

KATHMANDU, Sep 3, 2012

After a brief reprieve last week, gold continued its record-setting spree climbing to a new high of Rs 59,900 per tola (11.664 grams) in the domestic market on Sunday - the first trading day of the week.

Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers´ Association (Negosida), which fixes gold and silver prices in the domestic market, increased gold price by Rs 900 per tola on Sunday compared to Friday when the yellow metal was traded at Rs 59,000 per tola.

“International bullion prices determines gold and silver prices in the domestic market. We had to raise price of gold after the yellow market rallied in the international market on Sunday,” said Diyesh Ratna Shakya, secretary of Negosida. “Glittering gold is turning shoppers away ahead of the festive season.”

Gold, which was priced at US $1,655 per troy ounce during early trading on Friday, gained $36 per troy in the international bullion market on Saturday.
According to Shrestha, gold price is increasing in international market as investors are looking to safe haven due to slowing global stock market.

Traders said demand for gold in the capital has dropped to around 10 kg a day, almost half of average daily demand recorded a month ago.

“It would be difficult for bullion traders to sustain business if gold sales did not pick up during upcoming festive season of Teej, Dashain, Tihar and Chhath,” Pramod Ratna Shakya, proprietor of New Road-based Tejmin Jewelers, said.

Price of silver has also increased by Rs 40 per tola. Silver was traded at Rs 11,145 per tola on Sunday.

Source: Republica

Gold price hits new high

KATHMANDU, June 15, 2012
Gold soared to an all time high of Rs 57,250 per tola (11.664 grams) in the domestic market on Thursday, gaining Rs 250 per tola overnight. With this the yellow metal broke the previous high of Rs 56,950 per tola recorded on Tuesday.

Officials of Nepal Gold and Service Dealers Association (Negosida) said they revised gold prices in line with the prices in international bullion market.

“We had to adjust prices because the yellow metal is rallying in the international market,” said Tej Ratna Shakya president of Negosida. He also said strengthening of US dollar vis-à-vis Nepali rupee was also making gold expensive in Nepal.

The yellow metal was traded at Rs 56,600 per tola in the domestic market on Friday when gold price was hovering around $1,565 per troy ounce in the international market.

International bullion prices of gold has reached to $ 1,600 per troy ounce on Thursday.

According to Parmod Shakya proprietor of Tejmin Jewelers at New road, price of the yellow metal is increasing because of rupee´s depreciation vis-à-vis US dollar.

“Along with this gold price has continued to increase in the domestic market after the government raised customs duty on gold by Rs 800 per 10 grams to prevent illegal export of gold to India,” said Shakya.

With rise in the price of the yellow metal volume of transaction has decreased, said Shakya, adding that sales would increase from mid-June when the wedding season would start.

Source: Republica

Gold hits historic high of Rs 56,800

KATHMANDU, JUNE 4, 2012

The precious yellow metal has reached another height in the domestic market due to the weakening rupee and rising international prices. Gold price was fixed at Rs 56,800 per tola (11.664 grams) today –– Rs 1,600 higher than yesterday’s price.

The international bullion market saw the price of gold rallying up on the cue of weak employment numbers in the US. On Friday, the discouraging US employment result shifted the focus of the investors from the US dollar to a more dependent safe haven gold.

Last month, gold was feared to have entered a bearish run as the weakening euro had driven investors to dollars instead of gold. Now, since the US economy also seems to be in troubled waters along with the Eurozone, gold has reclaimed its throne.

The strong dollar against the Nepali currency has also contributed in pushing the price of gold to its current high. The exchange rate for the dollar being around Rs 90 pushed the prices up despite gold being traded approximately at $1650 per ounce in the international commodities markets.

Gold had reached its earlier record of Rs 56,000 on May 4 after the government hiked the customs duty. The future of Greece staying in the euro along with the questionable Spanish solvency situation had already propelled the flight of investors to dollars and now with the escalated jobless rate in USA, gold is expected to go bull once again.

Source: THT

Gold import through hand carry should be more relaxed

KATHMANDU, May 6, 2012

Citing their inability to supply gold during marriage and festive seasons, yellow metal dealers have urged the government to open import of gold through hand carry, allowing Nepalis residing abroad for at least six months to bring in as much as 5 kg of gold to manage supplies.

Though dealers presently receive 20 kgs of gold from the commercial banks, as provisioned by the Nepal Rastra Bank, they claimed the supply was falling far short to meet local demand, which soars during marriage season and festivals.

“The ceiling set by the central bank is fine for off seasons. But as we have marriage season and other festivals almost every alternative month, we have consistently failed to manage supplies with the volume supplied to us,” said Tej Ratna Shakya, president of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association (Negosida).

While the frequent scarcity has been troubling consumers, both in terms of supply as well as fair pricing, dealers too have been complaining that it has been affecting their businesses during peak demand period.

Referring to such a situation, the association had recently held talks with senior NRB officials to resolve the problems. But after the central bank declined to help, say gold import in just 8 months of 2011/12 has already crossed over Rs 16 billion - which is higher than its liking, the association has knocked on the doors of Ministry of Finance (MoF).

“We are not seeking immediate changes in the provision. But given that gold holds special meaning in individual and social life, there has to be some permanent solution to the current problem. Hence, our push for change is from the new fiscal year,” said Shakya.

Presently, the government allows Nepalis to bring in only up to 350 grams of gold through hand carry luggage. Till a few years ago, Nepalis residing abroad for more than 6 months were allowed to bring in as much as 10 kgs of gold through hand carry.

But after the import suddenly rose to over Rs 41 billion in 2009/10, which contributed in a sharp rise in trade deficit and depletion of foreign currency reserve, the government tightened its import.

Though Nepalis in recent years, particularly after stock and real estate market slide, started putting in their money on gold to take profit out of soaring international prices, NRB had primarily assessed that unprecedented rise in import was due to illicit outflow of yellow metal to India, where import duty was much higher than in Nepal.

Following such assessment, the government jacked up the import rates and also lowered the import through hand carry to 1 kg per person in 2010/11 and further limited it at 350 grams per person in this fiscal year.

As lowering import limit through hand carry raised transaction cost, dealers are barely getting any supply though that source.

“The provision has helped the economy greatly, but turned the market jittery. Unfortunately, this is giving rise in illicit inflow of gold during seasons when demand rise, distorting prices and also resulting in massive outflow of Indian rupee,” said Shakya, pushing for the relaxation in the provision.

Source: Republica

Gold hits all-time high of Rs 48K per 10gm

KATHMANDU, MAY 05, 2012

Gold price hit an all-time high of Rs 48,010 per 10 gm (Rs 56,000 per tola) on Friday, jumping Rs 514 per 10 gm overnight.

The price was at Rs 47,495 per 10 gm on Thursday. The previous record was Rs 47,580 per 10 gm set on Nov 30, 2011.

The latest surge in the price is due to the hike in gold import duty, said Tej Ratna Shakya, chairman of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association (Negosida). A Cabinet meeting on Thursday increased the duty to Rs 2.300 per 10 grams.

After India hiked gold import duty by two folds in mid-March, there was a surge in smuggling of gold from Nepal to India. Traders had been complaining that the difference between duties in Nepal and India encouraged gold smuggling to the southern neighbour, leading to a shortage here. “The latest hike in import duty has discouraged smuggling of gold to India,” said Shakya.

Gold smuggling is also related to the illicit trade of the Indian Currency (IC) prevailing in bordering areas. Black marketers sell the IC—earned from selling gold in India—at high exchange rates in bordering areas. This is one of the major reasons behind increased gold smuggling, according to traders. According to Shakya, gold supply in domestic market eased from Friday.

Source: Kantipur

Gold price set to rise after India hikes customs duty

KATHMANDU, March 18, 2012

Gold price is likely to go up in the domestic market as the government is being pushed to hike import duty on precious yellow metal following the Indian government´s decision to raise customs duty on imports of gold.

The Indian government, through budget speech on Friday, hiked basic customs duty on standard gold bars, over 99.5 percent pure gold coins and platinum from 2 percent to 4 percent, citing widening current account deficit triggered by “growth of almost 50 percent in imports of gold and other precious metals in the first three quarters of this year”.

The latest change in tax rate means Indian importers will have to pay IRs 1,080 (Rs 1,728) while bringing in every 10 grams of gold which is lower than Nepal´s Rs 1,500. This has raised chances of smuggling of gold from Nepal to India through porous borders.

“To prevent this we have already asked the Ministry of Finance and Nepal Rastra Bank to revise customs duty so that illegal traders cannot take benefit of the change in India´s customs tax rate,” Tej Ratna Shakya, president of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association, told Republica.

Although he is yet to make a formal request in this regard, Shakya said Nepal government should raise customs duty by at least 50 percent. “This change will ultimately make gold pricier in the country,” he said.

Around 13 years ago when Nepal´s import duty was two percentage points lower than India´s 10 percent, Nepal imported up to 134 tons of gold in a year, whereas annual domestic demand at that time was only 15 tons. Most of this gold, traders claim, entered India illegally.

“The possibility of return of such a trend cannot be ruled out if changes to customs duties are not made immediately,” Shakya said.

The government in February raised imports duty on gold to Rs 1,500 per 10 grams following the Indian government´s announcement to raise the tax to IRs 540 on imports of every 10 grams of gold. Similar adjustments were made in the past as well.

The government has currently given permission to release 20 kgs of gold per day in the market. This amount of gold is distributed by 13 commercial banks on rotation basis.

Source: Republica

Gold import drops by three times

Gold import has plunged by almost three times in last three years.

“The country imported Rs 9.87 billion worth gold in the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to Rs 25.54 billion in the same period of fiscal year 2009-10,” according to the central bank.

However, in the same period last fiscal year, the precious yellow metal has seen a whopping drop to Rs 1.33 billion due to government ban on the import that has hit the dollar reserve due to cross border flow at the cost of import duty difference.

Currently, the domestic market is witnessing a shortage of the gold fuelling the price despite the price in the international market has been decreasing.

“The banks are not been able to supply according to the market demand fuelling the price in the market,” Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association president Tej Ranta Shakya said, adding that Nabil Bank’s 50 kg gold was sold out in an hour on Wednesday and Prime Commercial Bank’s 50 kg was also sold out on Thursday and on Friday there was no gold in the market that has put pressure on price today.

The precious yellow metal was traded at Rs 54,000 for a tola (11.664 gram) today.

“Despite rising price, the domestic market’s appetite has started to increase also due to marriage season,” he added.

Similarly, gold had another positive year in the international market, ending nine per cent higher in US dollar price terms and rising even further in most currencies, according to World Gold Council report 2011.

In spite of an interim increase in volatility, which affected all financial markets, gold outperformed a large number of asset classes – reinforcing its role as a foundation asset in portfolio construction, it said, adding that gold provided liquidity when investors needed it the most, acting as a risk management vehicle and also served as a currency hedge throughout the year, in particular against the US dollar.

While such inverse relationship pushed gold prices down toward the end of 2011, in part driven by profit taking and portfolio rebalancing, it is believed that gold fundamentals of supply and demand remain robust, according to the report that expect it continue to support its demand.

After a tumultuous year in financial markets around the world, gold was one of few asset classes to deliver positive returns.

Gold’s price appreciation was generally higher in currencies other than the US dollar, especially in developing markets, with the exception of China, as they saw marked declines of their currencies against the US dollar in the latter part of the year.

True to its role as a vehicle for diversification and risk management, gold outperformed a large majority of assets, including oil, on a risk-adjusted basis during a year of marked uncertainty and increased volatility. However, gold’s performance was not all smooth sailing throughout the year, particularly during the latter months.

Many investors saw gold as one of the few assets able to preserve capital and protect against tail risks, increasing their participation in the market especially during the summer and by early August, gold had broken the $1,800 per ounce level and reached a record high of $1,895 per ounce on the London PM fix on September 6, having traded as high $1,921 per ounce intra-day.

In all, gold’s price pullback of 15 per cent was labeled by some commentators as a break in gold’s multi-year trend. On the contrary, a careful analysis of gold’s historical performance shows that it has experienced various pullbacks over the last 10 years.

Source: THT

Gold Price. Highest Ever.

Gold price touched yet another record on Friday, trading at Rs 52,490 per tola in the domestic market. Gold price rose by Rs 1,800 today.

The price of the gold was Rs.50, 700 till Thursday.

Likewise, the price of silver has also soared today. Silver has reached Rs.1,176 per tola. Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association (NEGOSIDA) has said that it is the highest rate till now for the Gold.

Due to the decrease in the value of share market in international arena,
there is increment in attraction towards the yellow metal.