Daily Times

Spot gold price continued the overnight rally on Tuesday as the dollar faced heavy selling pressure amid the positive shift witessed in risk sentiment.

As of 1220 hours GMT, gold in the international market was available at $1,830.20 per ounce, gaining $6.30 (+0.35 percent). Out of the $6.30 per ounce increase, +$14.25 was due to weakening of the US dollar and -$7.95 was due to predominant sellers, according to Kitco Gold Index.

The price of 10 grams of 24-carat yellow metal in Pakistan, increased to Rs115,600 after gaining Rs3,500. Gold price in the local market settled at Rs112,100 on Monday. A relatively higher increase in the local gold prices was due to Pakistani rupee’s continuous depreciation against the US dollar during the day as well as late night recovery in global prices when the local market was closed.

Gold once again showed some resilience below the $1,800 mark and staged a goodish intraday bounce from its lowest level since late January touched earlier on Monday. The US dollar added to Friday’s modest losses and retreated further from a two-decade high amid some follow-through profit-taking. A weaker greenback was seen as a key factor that prompted intraday short-covering around the dollar-denominated commodity.

Moreover, concerns that a more aggressive move by major central banks to curb inflation could hit global economic growth offered additional support to the safe-haven gold. Investors also seem worried that China’s zero-covid policy and the war in Ukraine would continue to push consumer prices higher. This further benefitted gold’s status as a hedge against inflation.

Overall, gold’s value has decreased by 8.34 percent or $165 per ounce during the last four weeks. A major factor pressuring gold prices lower was the dollar’s strength. Over the last four trading weeks, the US dollar gained 4.15 percent in value.