Gold tops Tk 58,000 a Bhori as prices raised for fourth time in August

The jewellers in Bangladesh have raised gold prices again after a week and for the fourth time in August.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 26 August 2019, 06:04 PM
Updated : 26 August 2019, 06:08 PM

The price of 1 Bhori (11.664 grams) of 22-carat gold has been increased by Tk 1,666 to Tk 58,028.

The new prices will be effective from Tuesday, The Bangladesh Jewellers Samiti or Bajus announced on Monday.

On Aug 18, Aug 8, and Aug 6, Bajus raised gold prices by up to Tk 1,666 per Bhori in each hike.

The latest is the fifth in the span of a little over a month. On July 24, gold prices were raised at similar rates.

New gold prices (per Bhori):

22 carat – Tk 58,028

21 carat – Tk 55,696

18 carat – Tk 50,680

For traditional method, in which gold is acquired from old ornaments but there is no standard of purity, the price is set at Tk 30,326 per Bhori.

Silver price has been kept unchanged – Tk 933 per Bhori. 

On July 4, the jewellers raised gold prices by up to Tk 2,000 per Bhori days after a fair where the National Board of Revenue for the first time gave the traders the scope to legalise undeclared and stocked gold and gold ornaments with a payment of Tk 1,000 tax per Bhori.

Earlier, on June 17, they cut gold prices by up to Tk 1,500 per Bhori only four days after raising the prices on the day the national budget for 2019-20 was proposed.

FEARS STOKED BY US-CHINA TRADE WAR

Bajus General Secretary Dilip Kumar Agarwala cited the same reason he had mentioned while raising prices earlier – the rise in gold prices in the international market.

Gold prices in the international market have hit a 10-year high, according to Agarwala.

“Our price hike will look less if you see the international market prices,” he said.

The US-China trade war has stoked fear among businesses across the globe, leading to a spree of stashing gold and subsequently pushing the demand up, the businessman said, explaining the hike in gold prices in the international market.  

Investors are also buying more gold than shares of companies following a slump in the stock markets, he added.

The Bajus announcement also attributed the international gold price hike on “turmoil in global economy” and devaluation of US dollar.