KARACHI: Gold extended gains in the local market to an all-time high of Rs145,800/tola on Saturday amid rupee weakening due to prevailing economic crises in the country.
Gold 24kt gained Rs300/tola and Rs258/10 grammes to hit Rs145,800/tola and Rs125,000/10 grammes, respectively.
The precious metal jumped to a record high on the back of continuous decline in the value of rupee which declined to the record low of Rs208.74 on Friday due to depleting foreign exchange reserves of the country.
The official foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) declined $241 million to $8.98 billion during the week ended June 10, compared with $9.22 billion on June 3.
The overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $14.94 billion while the net reserves held by banks amounted to $5.95 billion.
Pakistan needs inflow of foreign exchange to boost its dwindling reserves, regarding which the government went into negotiation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to extend the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme but has so far failed to reach a settlement with the IMF.
Additionally, there has not been any development regarding the rollover of loan programmes of other friendly countries which furthered the pressure on the value of rupee.
Recently, the government banned the import of various non-essential and luxury items to minimise the outflow of the foreign exchange, besides slashing subsidies on the prices of fuel and electricity, a prerequisite condition by the IMF for the revival of the multibillion dollar programme.
However, these measures do not seem to stop the flight of the dollar as higher import bill on the back of elevated global commodity prices and minimal growth in the exports widened the current account deficit.
The price of gold in the international market witnessed a decline of $6 per ounce to $1,840/ounce.
The price of silver remained unchanged at Rs1,560/tola and Rs1,337.44/10 grammes, respectively, while the international silver prices were recorded at $21.74/ounce on Saturday.
