KARACHI: The prices of gold witnessed an increase of Rs350 in the local market to an all-time high of Rs138,700/tola on Friday owing to the continuous depreciation of the rupee.

Gold 24kt gained Rs350/tola and Rs300/10 grammes to hit Rs138,700/tola and Rs118,913/10 grammes, respectively.

The yellow metal recorded the previous all-time high of Rs138,400/tola on Wednesday, May 18, amid depleting foreign exchange reserves of the country coupled with domestic political instability.

The prices of gold prices made the record high in Pakistan as the local unit plunged to record low Rs200.14 against the dollar.

Despite the resumption of the negotiations between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the revival of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, the free-fall in the value of the rupee continued.

The investors’ sentiments were dented and panic buying of dollars was witnessed in the market as the talks with the IMF are expected to stall further on the back of the government’s decision to maintain the subsidy on the prices of fuel and electricity.

Pakistan needs inflows of the foreign exchange to strengthen its reserves, given that the current reserves are not sufficient to cover the import bill of three months.

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) were down $145 million to $10.16 billion on a weekly basis, compared with $10.30 billion on May 6, according to data released by the central bank.

The overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $16.16 billion, while the net reserves held by banks amounted to $5.99 billion.

The price of silver remained unchanged at Rs1,570/tola and Rs1,346.02/10 grammes, respectively, while the international Silver prices were recorded at $22.05 per ounce on Friday.

The price of gold in the international market also increased $13 per ounce to $1,843/ounce.