Gold price to rise

Bangladeshis will have to pay more for the glitter.

Abdur Rahim Badal Chief Economics Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 21 Jan 2015, 03:16 PM
Updated : 21 Jan 2015, 05:16 PM

After dropping thrice recently, the price of gold has risen by Tk 1,500 per bhori (11.664 grammes).

The new rate of just over Tk 46,000 for a bhori of gold will be effective from Thursday, Bangladesh Jewellers Association (BAJUS) General Secretary Enamul Huq said on Wednesday.

"The downward revision of gold prices was due to the drop in the world market. But in the last two months, the price of gold has risen across the world by almost $ 70 (Tk 2,300) for a bhori. So we have decided to raise it by Tk 1,493 for a bhori," Huq told bdnews24.com.

He said if the global trend of gold prices remained upward, that may lead to another upward price revision of the yellow metal by about Tk 800-1,000 per bhori.

The current upward revision is valid for 22 carat gold – and a similar percentage rise will be evident in other categories of gold as well.

The last downward revision of gold prices was on Nov 6, 2014 when it dropped by Tk 1,225 per bhori.

Huq said at that time the international price of 22 carat gold per ounce (just over two bhoris) was below $ 1,300. Now it is above $ 1,350.

"We are trying to match the global price range."

The new gold rates stands at Tk 46,014 for a bhori of 22 carat gold (as against Tk 44,521 currently), Tk 43,915 for a bhori of 21 carat gold (against Tk 42,422 currently) and Tk 37,266 for a bhori of 18 carat gold (as against Tk 35,773 currently).

The price of silver has also risen alongside the rising price of gold. A bhori of 21 carat silver will now cost Tk 1,108 against the current Tk 1,050.

Huq said the general strikes and blockade have dampened the gold market considerably. "We are worried because sales have dropped by more than 60 percent."

Syed Bashir adds from Kolkata:


Delivering a special lecture on the global metal scenario, noted economist Simon Hunt predicted the price of gold will rise sharply in the months to come.

He said countries like China and Russia who are determined to break the stranglehold of US dollar as a global currency of exchange were stocking up huge quantities of gold.

"They are not only trading their goods in other currencies including their own but also trying to link their currencies to gold in future."

Hunt said China had stacked up at least 30,000 tonnes of gold and the Russian stockpile was no less.

“If this continues and I think it will, the price of gold will skyrocket globally," Hunt said.