ISLAMABAD: Gold price in the country went slightly up by Rs250 per tola on Thursday following an overnight surge in prices in the international market. According to the data provided by the Karachi Sarafa Association, the price for one tola of 24-karat gold increased to Rs228,550 from Rs228,300. Similarly, the price for 10 grams of 24-karat gold increased to Rs195,945 from Rs195,730, showing an uptick of Rs215. Similarly, the price for 10 grams of 22-karat gold went up to Rs179,616 from Rs179,420, showing an uptick of Rs196. Earlier, gold prices in the country surged last week by Rs9,900 (+4.49 percent) per tola. The gold rate for a single tola of 24-karat increased to Rs230,200 from Rs220,300. During the month of February, the price for one tola of 24-karat gold increased by Rs200 to Rs215,700 from Rs215,500 while in January, the price for one tola of 24-karat gold decreased by Rs4,500 to Rs215,500 from Rs220,000. On the other hand, gold futures in the international market as of 1110 hours GMT were available at $2,169.40 per ounce, showing a dip of $4.10. Out of the $4.10 decrease, -$0.85 was due to strengthening of the US dollar and -$3.25 was due to predominant sellers, according to the Kitco Gold Index. Gold prices struggled to capitalize on the previous day’s recovery move from the $2,150 area, or the weekly low, and came under some selling pressure. A hot US inflation print fueled speculations that the Federal Reserve may delay interest rate cuts. TLTP
This, in turn, remained supportive of elevated US Treasury bond yields, which assisted the US dollar to regain some positive traction and turned out to be a key factor exerting downward pressure on the non-yielding yellow metal.
From a technical perspective, any subsequent move up is more likely to confront some resistance near the $2,195 region, or the record peak touched last Friday. Some follow-through buying beyond the $2,200 mark will push the gold price to uncharted territory and be seen as a fresh trigger for bulls. On the flip side, the $2,155-2,150 area now seems to protect the immediate downside, below which the gold price could slide to the next relevant support near the $2,128-2,127 zone.
