Gold rates go up in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The rates of 24 karat per tola gold increased by Rs.1,100 and was sold at Rs 279,400 on Friday against its sale at Rs 278,300 on previous trading day, All Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association reported.

The price of 10 grams of 24 karat gold also increased by Rs.943 to Rs.239,540 from Rs 238,597 whereas that of 10 gram 22 karat also went up to Rs.219,579 from Rs 218,714.

The prices of per tola and ten gram silver remained constant at Rs3,350 and Rs. Rs.2,872.08 respectively. The price of gold in the international market increased by $11 to $2,676 from $2,665, the Association reported.

Gold prices rebounded on Friday as uncertainty surrounding the incoming Trump administration’s policies lifted safe-haven appeal, even as a stronger-than-expected U.S. employment data reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve might not cut interest rates as aggressively this year.

Spot gold was up 0.6% to $2,685.38 per ounce as of 9:40 a.m. EST (1440 GMT), while U.S. gold futures rose 1.3% to $2,726.10.

Gold prices briefly slipped to $2,663.09 an ounce after data showed the U.S. added 256,000 jobs last month, compared with economists’ estimate of a rise of 160,000. The unemployment rate stood at 4.1%, compared with a forecast of 4.2%.

Bullion prices, however, quickly rebounded and are now trading near their highest levels since Dec. 13, poised for a weekly gain of more than 1%.

“Gold’s price action points to a lack of committed sellers of the metal; a diffidence well-learned from last year’s remarkable rise,” said Tai Wong, an independent metals trader.

“The momentum from the knee-jerk reaction faded quickly and the short-term traders and programs that sold reversed quickly.”

The dollar rallied while US stock futures fell sharply after the jobs data. Markets show traders now expect the Fed to cut interest rates by just 30 basis points over the course of this year, compared with cuts worth about 45 basis points before the data.

“Gold is still acting resilient in the face of a much stronger-than-expected jobs report … One of the factors that’s been supporting gold is this uncertainty that we’ve seen going into the (U.S. presidential) inauguration,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.