KARACHI: The price of gold hit the all-time high of Rs167,300 in the Pakistani market on Monday as the dollar continued battering the rupee.
Gold 24kt gained Rs200/tola and Rs171/10 grammes to hit Rs167,300/tola and Rs143,432/10 grammes, respectively.
The rupee remained under pressure as the foreign exchange reserves of the country continue to deplete at a faster pace. The exchange rate witnessed another decline in the opening session of the week after recording consecutive losses during the previous week.
With reduced inflows in the shape of remittance and export receipts, the foreign exchange reserves have declined to a level where it is not enough to cover the import bill of one month.
The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan fell $134 million to reach $7.82 billion during the week ended November 18, compared with $7.95 billion on November 11.
According to the central bank, the decrease in reserves came due to external debt repayment.
The overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including the net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $13.64 billion, while the net reserves held by banks amounted to $5.81 billion.
However, international gold prices edged lower on Monday as investors squared positions ahead of US inflation data and a slew of central bank meetings across the world, including the Federal Reserve.
Spot gold was down 0.3 per cent at $1,791.09/ounce, while the US gold futures fell 0.4 per cent to $1,802.70/ounce.
Gold prices are softening a bit as investors shy away from precious and industrial metals as they await a smattering of central bank meetings including the US Fed, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank and others — which are all expected this week.
When central banks impose higher interest rates, it makes gold less attractive by comparison since the yellow metal does not offer a yield to investors.
The price of silver remained unchanged at Rs1,890/tola and Rs1,620.37/10 grammes. The international silver prices dipped 0.4 per cent to $23.37/ounce on Monday.
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