KARACHI: Gold prices in Pakistan surged sharply on Thursday, August 20, in line with a strong rally in international bullion prices amid continued geopolitical uncertainty.
According to rates issued by the All Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association (APSGJA), the price of 24-karat gold surged by Rs13,700 per tola to Rs471,936, up from Rs458,236 in the previous session.
The price of 24-karat gold per 10 grams also increased by Rs11,746, rising to Rs404,609 from Rs392,862.
In the international market, gold prices jumped by $137 per ounce to $4,495, compared with $4,358 in the previous session, according to the association.
Silver prices
Silver prices also rose in the local market. The price of silver increased by Rs369 per tola to Rs7,169, up from Rs6,800.
Geopolitical uncertainty
Investors continued to closely monitor developments in the Middle East as Iran and the United States remained at odds over efforts to reach a permanent end to the conflict in the Gulf.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday dismissed US President Donald Trump’s economic pressure plan against Tehran as a continuation of what he described as “failed policies”, saying the measures would bring Washington “further defeat”.
Iran slams Trump’s economic pressure plan as more ‘failed policies’
“The so-called ‘Economic D-Day’ is a diversion from America’s own crisis: unprecedented debt and surging interest costs. Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat — and enmity of Iranians,” Araghchi said in a post on X.
He also accused the US of using “economic terrorism” that threatened the global economy and sovereignty worldwide.
Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, said he was announcing the “most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country”, describing it as “economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale.”