Gold prices on Friday slumped by Rs 850 per tola to Rs 37200 after they fell in the global gold market by $20 an ounce, traders said. Ten gram gold price plunged by Rs 687 to Rs 31885 in single-day trading. On the global market, gold price reduced to $1163 an ounce, traders added.
Similarly, silver price went down to Rs 570 per tola from the historic high of Rs 590, while per 10 gram it was available for Rs 488.57, down from record high of Rs 505.71. According to the President of All Sindh Sarraf and Jewellers Association, Haroon Chand, gold jewellery sales declined phenomenally because of the rapid shrink in the people''s purchasing power.
Chand criticised the government for policies cause deprivation among the public in terms of increasing poverty from unemployment and inflation which consequently increased the street crime rate. He urged the local gold traders to avoid making gold jewellery; rather they should sell the yellow metal in the wholesale market to earn maximum. He added that the decline in jewellery sales had badly damaged the business here.
He quoted some analysts as saying: "the global gold price will surely hit $2,000 an ounce mark if the continued upward trend of price hike did not stop somewhere now". Chand said that the China''s demand for gold and Sri Lanka''s latest purchasing of the precious metal seemed to have a close fight between the IMF and China as each of them tries to capitalise on the recent uncertainness of the market. "China wants to purchase huge quantity of gold from the portion which IMF has announced to sell for diversifying its resources of income, but the Fund is trying to accomplish its task on increased rates," he opined.