KARACHI: Domestic gold prices maintained their record-breaking run on Wednesday, hurling the 10-gram and one-tola rates to an all-time high of Rs236,197 and Rs275,500, respectively, up by Rs2,144 and Rs2,500 from Tuesday’s rates, amid an uncertain political and economic environment.
The increase in local pricing was ascribed by the All Pakistan Gem and Jewellery Association (APGJA) to a $25 per ounce increase in global markets to $2,653.
According to Mohammad Haseen Qureishi, chairman of the All Karachi Jewellers and Manufacturers Association, “we are running our shops with only 30-35 per cent footfall of consumers” due to increased pricing driving away customers.
According to him, consumers of 10-tola jewelry sets have now settled on two or three tola, and others, whose purchasing power is eroding, depend on half a tola of jewelry.
Due to an uncertain economic outlook, according to Samiullah Tariq, head of research and development of Pak Kuwait Investment Company Ltd., Pakistanis are choosing to invest in gold rather than real estate and US dollars.
According to APGJA Chairman Haroon Rasheed Chand, investors have shifted their focus to yellow metal due to a number of factors, including reports of economic crises in numerous nations, the Federal Reserve’s and China’s central banks’ interest rate cuts, and the political unrest brought on by Israel’s attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.
