24-Karat gold settles the week at Rs214,600, up by Rs3,300 WoW

November 04, 2023 (MLN): Domestic bullion extended its upward momentum as the price of 24-Karat recorded another weekly gain of Rs3,300 per tola to settle at Rs214,600.

The Karachi Sarafa Association reported that the price of 10-gram 24-karat gold closed today’s session at Rs183,985, reflecting a gain of Rs172.

While 10-gram 22-karat gold stood at Rs167,631, up by Rs1,022 compared to the previous close.

The price of silver remained unchanged throughout the week, with 24-karat silver and 10-gram 24-karat silver closing at Rs2,550 and Rs2,186.21 respectively.

The declining value of the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) continued to support the local bullion prices.

The local currency experienced its third consecutive weekly loss, depreciating by 3.74 rupees against the US Dollar this week.

Since gold is denominated in U.S. dollars, when the PKR weakens against the USD, the value of PKR-denominated gold rises.

On the global front, the international spot gold ended its three-week bullish streak with a 0.67% decline this week.

It is worth mentioning that the local bullion rates are calculated with the inclusion of a $20 premium on international spot gold.

Throughout the week, the market’s attention shifted from the Israel-Hamas conflict to events such as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and U.S. jobs data.

To note, the US Federal Reserve maintained its decision for the third consecutive time to keep interest rates unchanged at 5.25%-5.5%.

However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell made it clear that the central bank is not actively considering lowering interest rates, to stimulate the economy.

The U.S. job data showed that growth slowed more than expected in October, while wage inflation cooled, pointing to an easing in labor market conditions. Data showed employers added 150,000 jobs in October, below the 180,000 expected by economists, as Reuters reported.

This cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates.

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