Gold Price Increases while Nepalese Rupee falls

KATHMANDU, Jan 3: Nepali rupee weakened by 65 paisa this week as the Indian currency, with which rupee is pegged, shed value against the greenback. Price of gold, on the other hand, increased by Rs 860 per 10 grams over the week in line with the price movement in international bullion market.

CURRENCY
Nepali rupee dropped to 99.92 against US dollar, losing 65 paisa over the week. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central monetary authority, opened currency trading on Sunday with exchange rate of US dollar fixed at Rs 99.27.

Rupee remained unchanged on Monday but lost 9 paisa on Tuesday to settle at 99.36. The local currency, however, rallied, gaining 17paisa to close at 99.19 on Wednesday. Rupee dropped 16 paisa against US dollar on Thursday to settle at 99.35 after Indian currency weakened against the greenback.

According to Reuters, the Indian currency fell to a one-month low on Friday, extending losses for a third consecutive session, as the dollar strengthened against emerging Asian currencies and as a bout of risk aversion hit local stocks.

Rupee shed 57 paisa on Friday - the last trading day of the week - to close at 99.92.
The local currency gained 48 paisa against Euro but lost a whopping Rs 1.32 against British Pound over the week. A Euro was valued at Rs 136.79 on Friday, while the Pound Sterling was exchanged at Rs 165.29.

BULLION

Gold glittered this week as its price went up by Rs 860 per 10 grams over the week.

The Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations opened bullion trading on Sunday with price of gold fixed at Rs 44,580 per 10 grams. Though gold price remained unchanged but on Tuesday, it went down by Rs 340 per 10 grams to Rs 44,240. The price remained unchanged on Wednesday.

Gold price, however, went up by Rs 640 per 10 grams to Rs 44,880 on Thursday. Price of the precious metal increased further by Rs 560 per 10 grams to close the week at Rs 45,440.
Price of silver also increased by Rs 4 per 10 grams to close at Rs 741.5 this week.

Source:myrepublica.com, Jan 4th 2014
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Price of Gold down by Rs. 1,135 per 10 grams

KATHMANDU, Dec 20: Nepali rupee weakened by 2 paisa this week as the Indian currency, with which rupee is pegged, weakened negligibly against the greenback. Price of gold, on the other hand, went down by Rs 1,135 per 10 grams over the week due to drop in prices in the international bullion market.

CURRENCY
Nepali rupee dropped to 99.73 against US dollar losing 2 paisa over the week. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central monetary authority, opened currency trading on Sunday with exchange rate of US dollar fixed at Rs 99.71.

Rupee unchanged on Monday but gained 63 paisa on Tuesday to settle at 99.08 after the Indian currency logged gain against US dollar. The local currency, however, shed 44 paisa on Wednesday to close at 99.52. Rupee dropped another 13 paisa against US dollar on Thursday to settle at 99.65 after Indian currency weakened against the greenback.

According to Reuters, the Indian currency fell for a third session on Thursday in line with emerging market currencies as the US Federal Reserve began its long-awaited tapering, but losses were minimal as the currency is seen less vulnerable on a sharply lower current account gap.

Rupee lost 8 paisa on Friday - the last trading day of the week - to close at 99.73.

The local currency gained 39 paisa against Euro but lost a whopping Rs 1.04 against British Pound over the week. A Euro was valued at Rs 136.48 on Friday, while the Pound Sterling was exchanged at Rs 163.37.

BULLION
Gold price went down by Rs 1,115 per 10 grams this week.

Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations opened bullion trading on Sunday with price of gold fixed at 45,695 per 10 grams on Sunday. On Monday, gold price went down by Rs 170 per 10 grams to Rs 45,525. The price, however, increased by Rs 85 per 10 grams to close at Rs 45,610 on Tuesday.

Gold price went down by Rs 340 per 10 grams to Rs 45,270 on Wednesday. Though gold price remained unchanged on Thursday, it declined by whopping Rs 690 per 10 grams to end the week´s trading at Rs 44,580

Price of silver dropped by Rs 15 per 10 grams this week. On Friday, silver was traded at Rs 835 per 10 grams.

Source:myrepublica.com, 20th December 2013.
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Gold Price in Nepal falls to Rs.50,500 per tola

KATHMANDU, NEPAL

Gold price went down by Rs 2,500 per tola (11.664 grams) on Sunday compared to price recorded on June 11 when bullion dealers last fixed gold and silver prices.
Bullion traders returned to business only on Saturday, ending their 10-day protest. They were on warpath, demanding that the government incorporate their suggestions in the market monitoring guidelines and not initiate action against jewelers who were found cheating consumers during market monitoring conducted by the government.

On Sunday, the yellow metal was traded at Rs 50,5000.
Tej Ratna Shakya, past president of Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers´ Association said that the drop in gold price is in line with the international price drop.
“Ten days ago, gold price was hovering over US$ 1,344 per troy ounce in the international market. Now, it has gone down to $1,276.19 per troy ounce,” he said, adding, “Had rupee not weakened to this level, gold price would have come down below Rs 50,000 per tola.”

According to Reuters, gold price went down to $1,276.19 per troy ounce on Thursday - the lowest since September 21, 2010. “Gold prices plunged over 5 percent to the lowest, leading a global market rout one day after the US Federal Reserve gave its most explicit signal yet that it plans to wind down the era of easy money,” said Reuters.

According to Nepal Bankers´ Association, commercial banks have around 300 kg of gold in stock as bullion dealers did not purchase the yellow metal for 10 days because of their protest. Banks did not release gold on Sunday as international market is closed on the day.
Meanwhile, two federations of gold, silver and gems dealers are preparing to start issue recommendations for gold purchase from Monday. “We have decided to issue recommendation to wholesalers as per their need as commercial banks have enough gold in stock,” said Ramesh Maharjan, president of Federation of Nepal Gold, Silver, Gems and Jewelry Association.

As per the provision of Nepal Rastra Bank, traders can issue recommendation for the past stocks but cannot issue recommendation for the future needs. “As we can issue recommendation for all the accumulated gold, there should not be any problem in getting gold from banks, said Shakya, projecting that price will drop further down. “International market trend shows, gold price is on the decline.”

As the market opened after a hiatus of 10 days, traders said demand for gold climbed to as high as 40 kg on Sunday.
On Sunday, price of silver also went down by Rs 50 per tola to Rs 825 per tola.

Source: myrepublica, 24th June 2013
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Jewellery Shops in Nepal open for Business

KATHMANDU, NEPAL

Bullion traders, who have closed their shops since the last 10 days, have called off their protest after the government formed a seven-member taskforce to formulate monitoring guidelines.

Bullion traders were on a nationwide strike since last Wednesday to pressure the government to formulate market monitoring guidelines and to protest government action against three jewelery shops.

A meeting held between bullion traders and the government at the Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM) has agreed on a three-point deal.

"The meeting formed a seven-member taskforce with authority to formulate market monitoring guidelines and address the issues raised by bullion traders. With this, the gold traders have agreed to call off all their protests," said Narayan Prasad Bidari, director general of DoCSM.

The seven-member taskforce formed under the leadership of Nuta Raj Pokharel, under-secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, includes representatives from DoCSM, Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Law and Justice from the government side, and one representatives each from the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations (FNGSDA) and the Federation of Nepal Gold, Silver, Gems and Jewelry Associations (FNGSGJA). Besides, there will also be two technical assistants from each federation.

Mani Ratna Shakya, president of FNGSDA, said that with the agreement, all their protest programs have ended and they will reopen the shops from Saturday. "We will open our shops from tomorrow, start issuing recommendations to banks from Sunday to buy gold and also fix the bullion prices, something that has been stopped since June 11", said Shakya.

A joint team of DoCSM and Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology had inspected 12 jewelry shops in the capital over the past two months. Lab tests on jewelry samples collected from the shops showed that the traders were cheating customers in terms of the quality and weight of gold, silver and diamond.

Though the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies has prepared a draft proposal to standardize the price and quality of gold, silver, diamond and items made from these, bullion traders were against this, arguing that it does not address their demands and that it was very impractical.

"Now, as the taskforce will formulate new guidelines, the old draft is automatically cancelled," said Bidari.

Source: Himalayan Times, 22nd June 2013
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Jewellery Shops in Nepal still remain closed for the 9th Day

KATHMANDU, NEPAL

Nepali consumers did not get to buy gold despite the international price of the yellow metal dropping to the lowest in the past two and half years. The domestic price of gold has not even been fixed with the traders shutting down their shops for the past one week protesting the government’s action against cheating traders.

They have more reasons to not open their shops due to the fall in price of gold internationally. The traders, who were complaining that the government did not supply enough gold when the price was high, have not even bought gold from the banks now. The international price of gold dropped by 3.4 percent on Thursday to US$ 1,304 per ounce (28.349 grams), the lowest in the past 30 months. The price has fallen as the investors opted for government bonds instead of gold after the US Federal Reserve Bank changed its interest rates. The fall in international price ahs also affected the India market with the price falling by IRs 400 per 10 grams to IRs 28,000.

The Nepali price would have been fixed at around Rs 52,000 per tola (11.663 grams) but it has not been fixed since last Wednesday due to the ongoing protest by traders. The Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association fixes the daily price of gold and silver based on the international price. It has not set the price after fixing it at Rs 53,000 per tola on June 11. Transaction of gold and silver and other metals and gems has been brought to a grinding halt after the Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association and the Nepal Gem and Jewelry Association shut down the shops on June 12 to put pressure on the government to not take action against the traders that were found to be cheating during monitoring.

The dispute between the government and the traders had also started once the price started to fall drastically. The government had started monitoring after the traders did not sell gold when the international price fell significantly in the third week of April. The entrepreneurs have been protesting ever since. General Secretary of the Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association Manik Ratna Shakya claimed that the consumers have not been able to buy gold at the decreased price due to the government’s apathy. “We are ready to open the shops if the government were to meet our demands,” he said. There has been no dialogue after the entrepreneurs put an unreasonable demand of ending monitoring. The government is not in a mood to step back as the traders have technically demanded that the cheaters should not be punished.

Government officials said that discussions can be held about the standards for trading of gold and monitoring if the entrepreneurs were to come for dialogue opening the shops. “There will be no dialogue until they open the shops,” Director General of the Department of Commerce and Supply Management Narayan Prasad Bidari sated. “We are ready to hold dialogue about the monitoring standards while continuing the process of action,” he added. The government had monitored 10 jewelry stores in Kathmandu Valley in April and May. The entrepreneurs have been protesting after the government initiated action against three of those involved in serious offenses.

Source: Karobar Daily, 20th June 2013
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Jewellery Outlets across Nepal remain closed for the 6th Day

KATHMANDU, NEPAL

Bullion traders organized a protest rally in the capital on Monday to draw the attention of the government toward their demand.

Jewelry outlets across the country have remained shut since Wednesday due to protest called by Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations and Federation of Nepal Gold, Silver, Gems and Jewelry Association. Both the federations have stopped fixing rates of gold and silver. They have also stopped issuing recommendations for dealers to purchase gold from commercial banks.

“Closing the shops is not our choice but a compulsion,” Mani Ratna Shakya, president of Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers´ Associations, said. “We are closing shops even though we have to face losses because the government is turning deaf ear to our demand.”
Both the federations have been demanding that the government withdraw cases against gold, silver and diamond dealers who were found involved in cheating customers during market monitoring conducted by several government agencies. The dealers, however, have been maintaining that market monitoring is being carried out without any guidelines.

According to Shakya, more than 15,000 traders and 55,000 workers are directly involved in gold, silver and diamond industry. “Around 1.5 million people are dependent on this trade,” he added.

However, Narayan Prasad Bidari, director general of Department of Commerce and supply Management (DoCSM), made it clear that the government won´t withdraw cases against the wrongdoers. “Those found guilty will be punished at any cost,” he maintained.

He also said the government has invited officials of both the federations for talks on Tuesday. “In the meeting, we will ask the dealers what they really want from the government,” said Bidari.

Ealier the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies had invited bullion traders for talks on Friday. But the talks couldn´t take place as the government had appointed new commerce secretary the same day.

Shakya also demanded that the government incorporate their suggestions in the guidelines.

After the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies prepared draft of a proposal to standardize the price and quality of gold, silver, diamond and items made from these, bullion traders have proposed their own guidelines saying that the government proposed draft does not address their demands and that it is not applicable at all.

 “If the government prepares the guidelines for monitoring that is acceptable to us, we will definitely help the government to find out the wrongdoers,” said Shakya, adding that closure of jewelry outlets is inflicting revenue loss of Rs 15 million a day on the government.
According to Shakya, daily transaction of gold, silver and diamond in the country hovers around Rs 200 million.

Source: myrepublica, 18th June 2013
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Price of Gold drops Again

KATHMANDU, NEPAL:

The price of gold once again dropped today to reach a year low of Rs 49,099 per tola (11.664 gram).

On the first day of trading today, the domestic market witnessed a fall of Rs 651 per tola in gold price, according to Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association. On Friday, the precious yellow metal was traded at Rs 49,750 per tola in the domestic market.

The gold price is fixed in

the domestic market on the basis of international market price. “A drop of $20 per ounce today in the international market has pulled the price down in the domestic market,” the association added.

The international market is expected to witness a fall in gold price to $1,320 per ounce, which will further bring down the price in the domestic market, it said, adding that the strong dollar has also contributed to the lowering of the price of gold.

The price started to drop from mid-April. On April 15 and 16, prices dropped by Rs 6,300 per tola — on April 15 it dropped by Rs 3,300 and on April 16 it further plunged by Rs 3,000 — due to prices decreasing in the international market. The price of the precious yellow metal had touched a record high of Rs 62,000 per tola in the domestic market on September 14, 2012.

Source: The Himalayan Times, 20th May 2013

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